


and anything to make you smile, it is a better side of you to admire

by endofdaysforme



Series: has a nice ring to it [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, anyway uh...hope ya like it, but hey its a conclusion to my series so ayyyyy right?, it's a long oneshot again hahahaha kill me, little angsty but honestly...so s o f t and domestic and f l u f f y whew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 16:04:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17563652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endofdaysforme/pseuds/endofdaysforme
Summary: twenty years…twenty years together and the woman before her still has the fucking ability to make her heart race with a simple look and a smile…cheryl will never understand it, but over the course of twenty years, she’s discovered that it’s not something that necessarily needs to be understood…just something that needs to be acknowledged. because what they have is unexplainable, indefinable…something so beautiful, something so pure, cheryl’s quite sure not even the best writers could write down on pen and paper.shakespeare would eat his heart out at the sight of their love. for what were romeo and juliet compared to cheryl and toni?--aka, a nice conclusion to the "meant to be" series that looks at cheryl and toni's lives together after all the chaos from the first two stories, because i like happy endings, sue me.





	and anything to make you smile, it is a better side of you to admire

**Author's Note:**

> uh...yeah.
> 
> the word count, i know right, hah! 'a walk to remember' au, who?! actually, no, that fic was longer than this one, never mind...
> 
> anyway, hope you guys like this, you know how i said i was gonna take a break, HAHA NOPE.
> 
> leave a comment letting me know what ya think or you can yell at me and say 'fuck you' to me on twitter at @endofdaysforme!
> 
> i'm gonna go cry now because this series i've spent six months developing is actually over. whew. kms hours. BYE NOW.
> 
> fic title from “No One’s Gonna Love You” by Band of Horses

_“today is the day that i ask you, whether it’s tomorrow or two years from now, or ten or fifteen or twenty…today is the day i ask you to do me the absolute honor of one day becoming your wife.”_

 

the words ring through cheryl blossom’s mind as she fiddles with the topaz family engagement ring on her left finger, a smile stretching her red lipstick covered lips as she looks up at the full length mirror and takes in the sight of herself.

 

the perfect wedding dress…white fabric clinging to every curve of her body, long lace sleeves with her hair cascading down in soft red curls, the clip of the veil digging slightly into her scalp, but she doesn’t mind so much…

 

not when the day she’s been waiting eight years for has finally come. 

 

she can hear the muffled sounds of voices outside the door inside the church, the sounds of what is no doubt their guests settling into their seats in the pews to witness what cheryl is sure will be the best day of her life. 

 

and the best day of her future wife’s.

 

_oh god…this is it. this is the day toni topaz becomes my wife…_

 

the very thought has tears of happiness welling in her eyes, but she blinks them away quickly, not wanting to ruin her makeup on her special day. 

 

she wants to look nothing short of _perfect_ for toni when she reaches that alter. 

 

the last eight years have felt so long, but still so short at the same time. so much has happened, cheryl’s truly wondering how her and toni have even survived. within a year of the riots of riverdale, hiram lodge had been arrested for conspiracy after a full investigation had been launched by the fbi into his “sodale” project. it was discovered that he was planning to build a prison as a front for his drug operations, and as a result, was now spending the rest of his life in maximum security in new york, karma clearly coming to bite him in the ass.

 

veronica, of course, had been distraught despite everything her father had done, and hermione had lost her position as mayor as a result, but both women had preserved, fred andrews being elected in hermione’s place while the lodge women tried to move on with their lives, which cheryl likes to think, they now have.

 

the ghoulies had also fallen apart as a result of hiram’s arrest, and when they had showed up at the blossom estate, looking for a fight to end the serpents once and for all, something that had both cheryl and toni scared beyond belief, newly re-instated sheriff tom keller had come swopping in to save the day and immediately had them all arrested. 

 

watching penny peabody get thrown against a police car, watching her getting cuffed and watching her and the rest of the ghoulies get arrested for a number of charges from the riots, had been the most satisfactory goddamn moment of cheryl and toni’s lives. the woman who had almost killed toni was finally going away, and god…was it a good feeling.

 

as a result of the ghoulies’ arrest, the southside became serpent territory once more, but it was left in such a state of disarray by penny and her gang of miscreants, cheryl and jughead had decided it was best for the serpents to stay at the blossom estate until things were repaired.

 

the last eight years have seen relationships fall apart, and relationships bloom. veronica and archie had, unfortunately, broken up right before high school graduation, an amicable break up, but a sad one nonetheless, but the two had decided to remain good friends, something that was still going strong to this day. sweet pea and josie had also broken up, and that had been a little more hostile than expected. but they had worked through it, are at least on speaking terms now, and veronica, to everyone’s surprise, had moved on to, well…sweet pea, while archie…

 

well, archie had begun dating josie once he had thrown himself back into his music, a healing process he needed after everything he’d been through, the both of them bonding over their love for it, a swap of partners that cheryl honestly never saw coming. of course, both veronica and archie were happy for each other, although veronica had been just a little hostile towards josie for a while before she had realized just how happy archie and josie made each other, and sweet pea had been _livid_ , had spent a good three days ranting to cheryl and toni about it before they had forced him to stop being childish with a few choice words and a _lot_ of yelling, but had ultimately gotten over it once he had started something with veronica, the two of them bonding once he began working security at her speakeasy.

 

betty and jughead are still going strong, as are kevin and fangs, and well, obviously…so are cheryl and toni.

 

it’s eight years and three months to the day that toni proposed to her, the day finally arriving where they can make good on the promise they made to each other all those years ago in the ruins of thistlehouse, after so many ups and downs and, god…so many obstacles…

 

_“is…what does this mean, doctor connors? cheryl breathes, the tears building in her eyes before she can stop them as she grips toni’s hand in her own and tries her best not to break down, to be strong for the girl she loves who has more of a reason to cry right now than she does, fresh from surgery and being told that despite it, she was still in danger…_

 

_“it means…it means toni’s going to need a kidney transplant. removing the damaged one from the stabbing only helped so much, but the damage it caused to her working kidney was too severe. it was overworked for too long, and it’s starting to fail on her now, too. we can put her on the transplant list and start dialysis to help clean out her working kidney, but-.”_

 

_“if i don’t get the transplant soon, i’ll die.” toni croaks out hoarsely, the tears falling before she can stop them as cheryl lets out a whimper and jumps up from her chair to rest her lips on toni’s forehead, closing her eyes and trying to erase the last two days from her mind, because this can’t be it, it can’t…_

 

_toni had just collapsed yesterday morning, the sound of a loud bang in the bathroom of their trailer alerting cheryl to her fall, but she’d been showing signs of fatigue and sickness for at least a week now…when they arrived, doctor connors had done a few scans and had determined that toni’s damaged kidney from penny stabbing her had been failing on her, and had immediately wheeled her into surgery in an attempt to fix it…_

 

_an attempt that had failed, the surgeon making the quick decision to remove the kidney altogether. but unfortunately, it hadn’t been enough. her damaged kidney had affected her working one too much and now…_

 

_god, they should’ve come to doctor connors sooner, but they were both so busy with college applications and trying so hard to make it through their last year of high school…thinking about their future and now…fuck, now they might not even **have** one…_

 

_“it’s gonna be okay, cher. i’m sure i’ll get a transplant in no time.” toni whispers, smiling at her fiancée reassuringly despite the despair that’s so evident in her eyes, lifting the hand in her own to press a kiss to her knuckles as doctor connors watches them both sheepishly._

 

_“well, there is another option…”_

 

cheryl runs her fingers over the scar on her side over the fabric of her wedding dress with a shaky exhale, thanking every god she knows that she was a match for toni, that she was able to give her kidney to her fiancée, that they’re here today, with toni healthy as ever despite how hard she had protested cheryl’s quick decision to donate her kidney to her.

 

_“cheryl, baby, you can’t do this! what if something happens to you when you’re older and you need two working kidneys-.”_

 

_“toni, something is happening to you **now** and you need this! i’m not going to let you wait for another person’s kidney when mine is right here, working at a hundred percent, ready for you!” _

 

_toni huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head from where she’s resting in her hospital bed, and cheryl bites back a growl of frustration at the sight as she tries to ignore the sickly pale color of toni’s skin..._

 

_“no. i’m not putting you at risk, cheryl, this isn’t some small surgery, it’s a fucking transplant, one that could kill you-.”_

 

_“if you don’t get my kidney, you’ll **die** , toni! this isn’t a discussion, isn’t something up for debate! it’s happening, i already signed the documents, you have to sign now.” cheryl says firmly, grabbing said papers and throwing them onto toni’s lap. toni purses her lips, and the tears in her eyes fall over, spilling down her cheeks as she lets out a shaky breath and looks at cheryl with nothing but fear._

 

_“cheryl…” her voice cracks with emotion, and cheryl smiles as best she can and steps forward, sitting on the edge of the bed and gripping toni’s face in her hands, wiping away her girl’s tears with her thumbs affectionately._

 

_“we’re doing this, toni. you’re my fiancée, and i love you, and there’s nothing you can say to make me second guess this decision. you need this, and i need **you.** we’re going to be okay, babe.” cheryl whispers, leaning in to capture toni’s lips in a soft kiss that has the pink haired girl whining against her, gripping her shirt and pulling her as close as possible before she pulls away with a gasp and rests her forehead against cheryl’s._

 

_“you’re so crazy…so fucking crazy, i can’t believe you’re actually going to do this-.”_

 

_“well, believe it. now sign those papers before i make you.”_

 

cheryl remembers how scared she had been, the day of the surgery, but she also remembers toni’s hand in her own as they were wheeled into the theatre together, remembers waking up and looking to her right, doped out on morphine, to see toni fast asleep beside her…remembers feeling nothing but happiness at the sight of her alive and well…

 

the surgery had been a success, and after a lengthy recovery time, they had turned their focus back onto graduating high school, which they had, the both of them walking up that stage to grab their diplomas with sweet pea, fangs, kevin, josie, archie, veronica, betty and jughead all by their sides. 

 

after that…it was college, with cheryl choosing to study law, and toni deciding to pursue the three things she was passionate about other than the serpents: photography, crime and journalism. 

 

but of course, that had brought on complications of its own…

 

_“cher, i have to go…”_

 

_“just a little longer, please.” cheryl whines, burying her face into toni’s neck and tightening her hold around the pink haired girl as toni sighs shakily into her hair and rubs her hands up and down cheryl’s back soothingly, both girls trying so hard to ignore the pain in their hearts over the weeks they’re about to spend apart._

 

_why, why was toni so fucking talented? why was she accepted into the most prestigious journalism school in washington while cheryl was accepted into harvard, why were they being forced so far away from each other, it’s not **fair-**_

 

_“it’s just a few weeks, cher, and then i’m gonna come visit you, okay? and you know i’m gonna be facetiming you every single second of every single day…don’t cry, baby, please…you know i hate seeing you cry.” toni whispers, running her fingers through cheryl’s hair as the girl whimpers and presses a kiss to toni’s pulse point, imprinting the deep thrumming of it on her lips into her brain…_

 

_it is a few weeks, but then toni will leave again. and then cheryl will go to washington and have to leave, **again.** it’s not fair, they can’t possibly spend so much time apart-_

 

_“flight three-twenty to washington is departing in fifteen minutes.” the intercom voice says soothingly, but all it does is make cheryl cry harder as she clings to toni with a whine, fingers clutching the back of her shirt as she draws in a shuddering breath._

 

_not yet, please not yet, she just wants a few more minutes…_

 

_“i love you, cheryl…i love you so much, but i have to go. come on, baby…” toni budges her hips, tries to get cheryl off her lap, and cheryl squeezes her close just one more time before she finally detaches herself, whimpering with a trembling bottom lip and pulling back to stand on her shaking legs while toni grabs her duffel bag and hauls it over her shoulder, her own tears falling in despair._

 

_“just a few weeks…we can do this.” toni croaks out, a hand raising to wipe away the tears from cheryl’s cheeks with a trembling smile, and cheryl bites down on her own shaking bottom lip and nods slowly, sniffling before she grips toni’s face in her hands and kisses her without a single care that they’re in a crowded airport where everyone can see them._

 

_“i l-love you. call me when you land, p-please-.” cheryl chokes out against her lips, spattering gentle kisses against them as toni nods against her and pulls her closer with a whine._

 

_“i will. i love you, cheryl.” toni kisses her once more before she’s grabbing her left hand, pressing a kiss to the knuckle above where the topaz family ring is resting with a smile, and cheryl imitates her, grabbing toni’s left hand and kissing the knuckle above the blossom family ring just the same._

 

_“i love you, too. i’m going to miss you so much…”_

 

_“fuck, me too, cher, but we can do this. we’ve overcome so much worse…” toni whispers, smiling as she wraps her arms around cheryl’s neck and scratches at the baby hairs at the back of it affectionately. cheryl hiccups, causing the pink haired girl to chuckle before she leans in to kiss the corner of her mouth._

 

_“i’ve got your kidney in me too, remember? so technically you’ll be right there with me.” toni mumbles with a grin, finally pulling a laugh out of her fiancée as she grips her waist and pulls her closer for another kiss._

 

_“mmm, good. i-.”_

 

_“flight three-twenty to washington is departing in ten minutes.” cheryl gulps at the sound of those words, and toni curses under her breath before she quickly kisses cheryl once more and grips her bag, digging into her back pocket for her ticket and pulling away from cheryl with a deep sigh._

 

_“okay, i really have to go now-.”_

 

_“wait!” cheryl grips her hand before she can even take a step towards the gate and pulls her in for another deep kiss, dedicating the taste of toni’s lips to her memory, gripping toni’s face between her hands and ignoring how she whines against her before she pulls away and nuzzles her nose against toni’s breathlessly._

 

_“i love you. have a good flight and be safe, toni, please.”_

 

_“i love you too, cher. i’ll call you the second i land. bye, baby…” toni pulls away from her, wiping away the tears that fall down her cheeks as she grips her bag and pulls away from cheryl slowly, their hands still interlaced until she’s too far away to keep them so, and cheryl watches in despair, trembling and shaking with sadness as toni walks up to the gate and hands her ticket to the flight attendant at the gate. the flight attendant smiles and motions for her to walk in, and toni turns back right at the front of the gate and looks to cheryl with a sad smile, blowing her a kiss that cheryl catches, holding it to her own lips before sending one right back._

 

_“i love you.” cheryl mouths, smiling as toni grabs the kiss she blows and holds it to her lips before mouthing those same three words, turning her back to cheryl reluctantly and making her way through the gate until cheryl can no longer see her…_

 

true to her word, toni had facetimed her at least three times a day every single day, and on more than one occasion they had fallen asleep on the phone to each other, but regardless, it had been the most torturous four fucking years of cheryl’s life.

 

but the second toni had graduated with a degree in journalism and photography from her school in washington, she had moved back to riverdale, only a two hour drive away from where cheryl was in massachusetts, where she began to work for alice cooper at _the register_ , until her fiancée graduated another three years later from harvard with a degree in law at the top of her class, ever the perfect student, despite having to suffer the loss of nana rose in her last year of college. the shock of her death had been the hardest thing to deal with, a part of her truly believing that roseanne blossom was going to live forever, but as she had been there for toni when they had lost thomas, toni was there for her every step of the way, walking her through the stages of grief once the funeral was over…

 

_“i can’t believe she’s gone…” cheryl croaks out, gripping toni’s hand tightly in her own as they gaze down at roseanne blossom’s grave buried right next to jason’s, the blossom cemetery growing and growing with more bodies as cheryl bows her head and tries to stop her trembling bottom lip, but toni’s right there with her, brushing her thumb across it with a whimper before she pulls cheryl into her tight embrace, one hand stroking her hair as she coos softly…_

 

_“she’ll always be with us, cher…always…just like jason, and grandpa, and everyone else we’ve lost…”_

 

at the end of it all, cheryl moved back to riverdale as well, right back into their trailer with toni on the blossom estate where the serpents are still located, cheryl leaving the estate in f.p’s hands to look after during her years away, and the first thing she had done with her new law degree was seek to shut the sisters of quiet mercy down.

 

which she did. with two simple court sessions within a one month span. the sisters were all now serving life sentences in prison for negligence, torture, abuse and a hundred other charges thanks to cheryl, and the kids who suffered at their hands were now free, something that cheryl still gets tears in her eyes over whenever she thinks about it…

 

_“it’s over, cher…you did it.” toni beams proudly, the both of them watching as the entire building that was the sisters of quiet mercy gets torn down, the brick and the mortar collapsing while cheryl watches it all happen with biggest smile on her face, the pain and the anguish over the torture she suffered in there only making her lift her head high as she looks to toni with nothing but pride._

 

_“it made me stronger, t.t. it really did…they tortured me for a week, and all i dreamt about was you. and now this cursed building is crashing to the ground, and still, all i can think about is you. their little experiment failed, and i’ve never been prouder that i persevered…that **we** persevered.” toni grins widely at that, letting out a shaky breath as she brushes away the stray tear that falls down cheryl’s face with the back of her hand._

 

_“of course we did, baby. homophobic nuns or not, we can stand proud and watch them rot away in jail while we flourish and excel. **that’s** the beauty of this whole thing. and all they did was make me fight harder to save you, make **you** fight harder to get back to me…at the end of it all, they just made us fall even more in love with each other…fucking idiots.” toni mutters, and cheryl laughs loudly as she looks up at the building before thrusting her middle finger up in the air at it, causing toni to laugh as well before she does the same with a grin on her face and pride shining in her eyes._

 

but once that course case was settled, once that nightmarish, horror show of a chapter in cheryl’s life was finally closed, once she and toni were truly settled, that’s when the discussion of getting married had begun. 

 

the last year has been spent planning the perfect wedding, cheryl simultaneously working out a deal with the heads of the blossom maple syrup company now that nana rose was gone, a deal that ended with her selling the company altogether, a decision that left a majority of her distant relatives angry, not that she cared…and with that money, she built herself a new empire. 

 

the sodale project.

 

with her law degree in her back pocket, ready to go at any time, cheryl had decided to take a bit of a break from court cases and law books and focus on something closer to hers and toni’s hearts: the southside. with the serpents now taking over once more, and with permission of course, from f.p and jughead, cheryl had begun her plans to rebuild the southside from the ground up, with only one thing remaining untouched: the whyte wyrm, which had once again become the serpents den.

 

there’s plans to build a shopping center, a nightclub, and a few apartment buildings, as well as a luxury hotel, cheryl working with veronica and hermione as well to make this all possible, both women desperate to clear their names of hiram’s crimes. 

 

and despite her job, despite her success, toni was with cheryl every step of the way, the both of them planning the sodale project to perfection with both lodge women while simultaneously spending every spare second they’ve had together to plan this day right here. 

 

this day where they become wives.

 

there’s a soft knock at the door, and cheryl inhales sharply before she looks to it with a smile and a determined nod.

 

“come in.” she calls out, surprised herself at how calm her voice is despite how hard her heart is pounding as the door opens, and sweet pea walks in, the smile on his face wider than cheryl’s ever seen it before in the almost nine years she’s known him.

 

“toni’s ready. she’s about to walk down the isle with f.p. are you ready?” he asks softly, reaching out to grip her shoulder as she exhales shakily, but nods without hesitation.

 

“more ready than i’ve ever been. thank you, sweet pea…for doing this for me.” cheryl croaks out, gripping his hand in her own and giving it an affectionate squeeze as he smiles and leans in to press a kiss to her brow.

 

sweet pea had taken over her position as second in command of the serpents with jughead while she was studying, but both girls were still often approached when it came to serpent business, because that tattoo is still on cheryl’s shoulder, still the side of toni’s ribcage…

 

they’re serpents, through and through.

 

but sweet pea has been nothing more than a brother to her in the last nine years, and she and toni had spent _days_ trying to decide between who would pick who out of both boys to be part of their bridal party. ultimately, toni had chosen fangs because of the many times he’d protected her since they were kids, and cheryl had chosen sweet pea not only because of how close they were, but also partly because of his relationship with veronica.

 

“of course, red. i’m honored to be the one to give you away. although fangs is still butt hurt about it.” he grins, and cheryl rolls her eyes with a chuckle.

 

“he’s toni’s best man, he doesn’t get to complain.” sweet pea laughs, but his smile wavers as, to cheryl’s complete and utter surprise, tears well in his eyes, tears that he immediately blinks away before he sniffs and clenches his jaw, ever the tough gang member-

 

“are you crying?” cheryl whispers in shock, because she’s never seen him _fucking cry_ in nine years, and sweet pea clears his throat gruffly and shakes his head.

 

“no. allergies. let’s go.” he grunts out, and cheryl bites back a laugh as she takes sweet pea’s hand in her own, thankful that the serpent boy doesn’t comment on her clammy hands, and makes her way out of the room, the nerves quickly rising once more as soon as she hears the music change into the wedding march-

 

_it’s happening, it’s finally happening…_

 

sweet pea stops short just before the isle to block what is no doubt toni walking down the isle, and the very thought that toni is a few feet away from her has cheryl turning to face him with a look of complete and utter fear and heartbreak in her eyes. she doesn’t even know why she’s scared or sad, it’s just…this day has been in the works for eight goddamn years and now it’s here…

 

and maybe just a little part of her is heartbroken that jason isn’t here to witness it.

 

what would her twin brother say if he was here? what would his reaction be, to her marrying not only a girl, but a southside serpent? what would he think about cheryl now, a gang member and a lawyer, a woman with a gigantic fortune to her name that she spent so much of doing _good_ things with unlike their parents? would he be proud? so many questions that remain unanswered…

 

sweet pea stares at her with a frown, taking in the look on her face, and it’s almost like he can read exactly why she’s upset as he reaches out to grip her shoulders with a deep sigh.

 

“hey…he’s watching over you, red. and i know it would be so much better if _he_ was the one walking you down the isle right now, but-.”

 

“no, you’re…you’re like a brother to me, too, sweet pea. if not him, then no one else but you.” cheryl whispers, and god, sweet pea’s eyes are tearing up once more, but this time, cheryl can’t even bring it in her to laugh about it, she just smiles and touches his cheek lightly before he sniffs away his tears and bends down slightly to look her in the eyes, squeezing her shoulders and nodding at her once.

 

“toni’s at the end of that isle, cheryl. there’s nothing to be scared of.” he says softly. cheryl licks her lips before she swallows the lump in her throat and nods once, closing her eyes before she pictures what toni must _look like_ right now…

 

today is the first day of the rest of their lives together.

 

today is the day their lives begin.

 

“okay…okay, i’m ready.” she croaks out. sweet pea smiles and grips the veil at the back of her shoulders, pulling it over her head to cover her face before he holds his arm out for her to loop her own into. she grips his elbow and lets him lead her to the end of the isle, and as soon as she rounds the corner, cheryl looks ahead, can see toni standing in the distance through the lace of the veil-

 

suddenly, all she wants to do is sprint straight down this isle and get to her, because even through the fabric, even from this far away, toni looks so _beautiful_ , and that right there is the woman who will become her wife in twenty short minutes, but she stops herself and waits for the music to continue before she grips sweet pea’s elbow tighter and takes the first step.

 

her eyes sweep the pews as they enter the main area of the church, taking in the sight of all the serpents in their jackets gathered at the back of the church, grins on all their faces as they take in the fact that two of their own are getting married…over to sierra and tom keller, who smile at her happily, to betty and jughead closer to the front, the serpent king with his arm around betty’s shoulders as he smiles with nothing but pride, betty watching with tears in her eyes, taking in just how beautiful her cousin looks, to polly and alice cooper beside them, and to little juniper and dagwood, who watch their auntie with wide smiles and red hair so similar to her own shining atop their heads…

 

_see, cheryl? a part of jason is here, anyway…_

 

the thought brings her nothing but peace, and she finds herself smiling as her eyes move over to archie, standing beside reggie of all people,, grinning from ear to ear as the boy who has witnessed the chaos of cheryl’s life, the boy who broke his hand to save her watches her make her way towards her happiness…

 

her gaze moves ahead now, to veronica and josie, her two best friends, her bridesmaids, standing at the alter on her side, the tears in both their eyes spilling over as they watch their best friend walk down the isle to the girl she loves, both girls witness to the pain cheryl had gone through in all those years she and toni spent apart with cheryl calling them almost every day for support…

 

to f.p standing on toni’s side with most of the serpents, who has tears in his eyes as he watches the girl he thought would hate him for as long as he lived smile at him in thanks that he’s giving toni away to her, to kevin beside him, the boy who also saved her life looking at cheryl’s wedding dress and whispering ‘oh my god’ under his breath in awe, the wedding band on his hand matching the one on fangs’s…

 

fangs, who has tears in his eyes, the boy who beat nick st. clair to a pulp for what he did to her grinning widely, standing at the alter beside-

 

_oh my god…_

 

toni’s dress is beyond gorgeous, beyond anything cheryl’s ever seen before, puffing out over her waist slightly and descending in lace that matches the top of it, sleeveless and showcasing her caramel skin, her pink and brown hair thrown up into an intricate bun at the top of her head, and her face…

 

cheryl’s quite sure she’ll never forget the look on her face right now.

 

complete and utter _awe_ can’t even begin to describe it…

 

_that’s your girl, cheryl. that’s your wife…_

 

it’s jason’s voice that echoes in her mind with those words, and sweet pea quickens his pace as she does in her desperation to get to toni, chuckling under his breath until they finally reach the alter, and cheryl can’t even tear her eyes away from toni as sweet pea stands in front of her and blocks her future wife from view for just a moment to lift her veil, curling it over her head with a smile before leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek softly. she grips his hand, squeezing it tightly with a watery smile before he winks once and grins widely at veronica standing behind her, making his way over to where betty and jughead are, standing beside the serpent king with a wide grin as he watches the two girls who are like sisters to him get married…

 

cheryl stares at toni, taking in every goddamn inch of her as toni smiles shakily and reaches out to take her hand, the look in her eyes something cheryl’s never seen before.

 

love, affection, happiness, pride…so many positive emotions swirling in those brown depths, and the second their hands interlace, cheryl feels that familiar warmth that toni always gives her flood her, and her whole body just seems to…relax.

 

the part of her that aches over the fact that her twin brother is not here with her…the part of her that mourns the loss of him, that pain just becomes…irrelevant.

 

she’s getting married to toni topaz today…and that’s all that matters.

 

\-----------------

 

“ladies and gentlemen, if we can have your attention…”

 

cheryl and toni both look up with smiles as archie stands by the microphone, looking around at the guests with an equally wide smile on his face as his attention turns to cheryl and toni.

 

“it’s time for the blushing brides to have their first slow dance. if you’d give them at least a minute or two alone before joining, we’d appreciate it.” archie nods to them before josie joins him on the stage, handing him his guitar and pressing a kiss to his cheek with a smile as he slings it over his shoulder while valerie and melody take position by the keyboard and the drums respectively. josie grabs a tambourine, and cheryl cocks an eyebrow, not quite sure what song they’ve chosen for their slow dance…

 

she left it in archie and josie’s hands.

 

but regardless, she stands and takes toni’s hand in her own, the both of them making their way to the dancefloor and pulling each other close just as archie starts to strum his guitar slowly, and the second josie starts singing, cheryl inhales sharply with a smile, pulling toni impossibly closer as her heart flutters at the sound of the lyrics…

 

_“come to me now_  
_and lay your hands over me_  
_even if it’s a lie_  
_say it will be alright_  
_and i shall believe…”_

 

toni’s left hand settles on her lower back as the other grasps cheryl’s left hand tightly, cheryl making sure that her heels weren’t too tall just for this moment so they could be the same height, and toni exhales shakily into her ear as she rests the side of her face against cheryl’s, the red head’s chin ducking down to rest on toni’s shoulder as her eyes flutter closed and they simply…dance slowly, swaying on the spot and taking in the soft sounds of josie and the pussycats and archie’s guitar and josie’s soft, melodic voice.

 

_“broken in two_  
_and i know you’re on to me_  
_that i only come home_  
_when i’m so all alone_  
_but i do believe…”_

 

“i can’t believe this is finally happening…” toni whispers into her ear, her grip on cheryl tightening as her lips press a soft kiss to her hair. cheryl hums softly in reply, the arm around toni’s shoulders gripping before toni suddenly moves her hand from around cheryl’s waist and rests it over cheryl’s bicep, smoothing her hand up and down it just a little.

 

“i feel like i’ve been waiting for this day my whole life, t.t.” cheryl whispers back, trying her best to dispel the tears of happiness that well in her eyes before toni pulls back suddenly and spins her around, causing cheryl to giggle despite herself as she twirls on the spot with her hand still grasped tightly in toni’s…

 

_“that not everything is gonna be the way you think it oughta be_  
_seems like every time i try to make it right it all comes down on me_  
_please say, honestly, you won’t give up on me_  
_and i shall believe_  
_and i shall believe…”_

 

toni pulls her close once more, the both of them settling back into each other’s arms, and cheryl can hear the sound of cameras going off all around them, including their wedding photographers, so she grins into toni’s neck before she pulls away and looks into toni’s eyes, the pink haired serpent smiling up at her and leaning in to press a slow kiss to her lips to the cheers of all their guests watching them.

 

_“open the door_  
_show me your face tonight_  
_i know it’s true_  
_no one heals me like you_  
_you hold the key…”_

 

“how does it feel, being mrs. cheryl topaz now?” toni breathes against her lips, pulling back and joining her hands behind cheryl’s neck as the red head wraps her arms around her waist with a smile, their foreheads resting against each other softly.

 

“it feels good to finally lose the ‘blossom’.” cheryl whispers truthfully, not a single ounce of regret in her body over her decision to take toni’s last name instead of hyphening both of theirs together.

 

the blossom family have only ever given her pain…it didn’t make sense for her to keep the name of the parents who did nothing but abuse her, torture her, and in her mother’s case, even try to kill her. 

 

she couldn’t get rid of that last name fast enough.

 

the only thing that had given her hesitation was losing the last connection she had to jason, but sweet pea and fangs, along with betty, had repaired the impala for her last year at her request, so she at least had that connection with him back, and when she’d gone to jason’s grave with toni three weeks ago to tell him that she was dropping the ‘blossom’ name, she had felt that familiar warmth she’d felt a handful of times before during emotional moments at jason’s grave.

 

she knew, in that moment, that he approved, and that’s all she needed.

 

other couples begin to file in, sweet pea and veronica, betty and jughead amongst them, but for cheryl and toni: it’s just them. no one else exists but them…

 

_“never again_  
_will i turn away from you_  
_i’m so heavy tonight_  
_but your love is alright_  
_and i do believe…”_

 

“every day from here on out, we get to call each other ‘wife’, cher…i already knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, but this…this just makes it all _real._ ” toni croaks out, the tears in her eyes making cheryl’s heart pound against her chest, and when one spills over, cheryl brushes it away with the back of her hand as toni laughs breathlessly and sniffs back more tears.

 

and cheryl just speaks her truth, gripping her tighter and nuzzling her nose against toni’s affectionately.

 

“i didn’t…i didn’t think i would ever find something like this, something where…where every day my happiness just grows and _grows_ , but toni, every day with you for the last eight years has been exactly that…i don’t even want to say that this is the happiest day of my life because i know that tomorrow will be even better, and the day after that and the day after that…” cheryl can’t help but laugh lightly in just utter disbelief that this is happening…

 

that her and toni are finally, _finally_ getting married.

 

_“that not everything is gonna be the way you think it oughta be_  
_seems like every time i try to make it right it all comes down on me_  
_please say, honestly, you won’t give up on me_  
_and i shall believe_  
_and i shall believe…”_

 

“i love you, antoinette topaz.” cheryl whispers, smiling as toni closes the small gap between them to kiss her, ignoring the sounds of cameras clicking and just existing in this small world with the both of them…

 

“i love you, cheryl topaz.” toni whispers back as they both close their eyes, the smiles on their faces as bright as the fairy lights hanging above them.

 

_“i shall believe_  
_i shall believe...”_

 

\---------------------

 

**two years later**

 

“and so, it gives me great pleasure to welcome the town of riverdale…to the new sodale shopping center!” cheryl yells loud and clear into the microphone in her hands, grinning widely at the raucous cheers as fred andrews holds a pair of scissors up to her with his own grin etched on his face. she takes them, her ears ringing with the loud shouts of excitement around her as she cuts through the ribbon, watching it fall to the ground before the doors to the shopping center open and the citizens of riverdale file in, desperate to get inside, to spend their money on clothes and food and makeup and god knows what else-

 

cheryl watches with nothing but happiness, grips toni’s hand in her own, the cool metal of their wedding bands contrasting the summer heat that warms their bodies as hermione and veronica also watch on with pride, and fred chuckles and grips cheryl’s shoulder tightly with a similar look of pride on his face.

 

“looks like your sodale project is all done, cheryl. you’re a success story for the ages.” he teases, the smirk on his face evident regardless as toni leans in to her with a loud laugh and a smile.

 

“my wife the lawyer/business woman.” she says, pressing a kiss to cheryl’s jaw happily.

 

cheryl can’t contain her grin as she kisses toni’s temple, still watching the people of riverdale excitedly walk into the shopping center she built from the ground up with the help of everyone around her right now.

 

the last two years have been spent renovating the entire southside and now…now it’s over.

 

her luxury hotel was built, so were her apartment buildings, one of which, was purely used as a home for the remaining serpents, cheryl not content with watching her family continue to live in small, box sized trailers on her front garden. the building was _gorgeous_ , but cheryl had made the rent affordable for each and every family with f.p acting as their landlord. amongst working at the wyrm, some serpents were working at her nightclub and now the shopping center as well, providing each and every one of them with an income to live off without having to resort to dealing drugs or smuggling them in from new york like the serpents used to.

 

_“from now on, the serpents are clean! no drug dealing, no crime of any kind! we stay true to our word to protect the southside and riverdale from any who would try to cause it harm, but we also strive to not be part of that chaos as well! in unity, there is strength!” jughead yells out loudly, smiling as every single one of the serpents yell it out with raucous cheers and roars of approval before he looks to cheryl and toni with a wide grin and pride in his eyes._

 

_“cheryl has graciously decided to offer every single serpent a job on the southside, working in the hotel and the nightclub, as well as the wyrm and the shopping center once it opens! there’ll be no excuses! you commit a crime, you’re out! but should you find yourself in any kind of trouble, she’ll also be acting as the family’s lawyer! one, i have no doubt, will be much better than penny peabody ever was!” he calls out, the serpents scoffing in agreement and smiling at cheryl as she grins and bows her head to all of them before speaking._

 

_“i pray trouble never occurs legally for any of you, but if it does, i’ll be there! you can count on me.” she says firmly, much to the amazement of the other serpents as she squeezes toni’s hand in her own with nothing but happiness pounding through her heart…_

 

her nightclub was also built, with josie and archie headlining every single weekend, and so was a building that will eventually house her own law firm, but for now, the shopping center was the last piece of the puzzle, and now it’s been placed in the picture, completing it to perfection.

 

but there’s still one thing left…one thing left she wants to do…one thing she needs to do to make this all complete…

 

she looks to the mayor in front of her, sees him taking in the building before him in wonder before she clears her throat to catch his attention.

 

“mayor andrews, i know you and archie, along with your men, have been working tirelessly for the last two years to make this all possible, but…there’s one more job i have for you.” cheryl says firmly, ignoring the slightly surprised noise toni makes beside her as fred andrews frowns before he nods once.

 

“whatever it is…name it. after everything you’ve done for this town…” he says with a smile, looking up at the shopping center, no doubt thinking about the tourism this will attract for riverdale, and cheryl returns it before she squeezes toni’s hand and pulls her in closer, ready to announce the surprise she’s been thinking about for over a year now.

 

“the blossom estate…toni and i can’t live in our trailer forever. i think it’s time we build our home.” cheryl says softly, glancing down at toni to see her eyes widen before she’s looking up at cheryl with tears in her eyes.

 

cheryl hasn’t mentioned it to her at all, has been waiting for this day to surprise her with it, but she’s been thinking about it from the moment she moved back into their trailer when she graduated college…

 

“really?” she breathes, the look of awe on her face making cheryl smile as she nods slowly and turns to face fred once more.

 

as much as she loves their trailer…she wants to do this for toni… _with_ toni. build a proper home for them to live in, a proper house with four walls and a roof, a place where…

 

a place where they can maybe one day raise their kids…

 

fred’s grin only grows wider before he chuckles and nods once.

 

“done deal. free of charge, too. i haven’t forgotten the deal i made when you saved archie’s life that night of the riots, cheryl. we’ll discuss excavating the area and we’ll talk about plans tomorrow, okay? for now…enjoy the world you’ve built for riverdale on the southside.” he says softly, looking up at the shopping center once more with a smile that has cheryl looking to hermione and veronica proudly.

 

of course, cheryl has enough on her plate now, developing a home and working on building her law firm, so she’s left the shopping center and a few other businesses on the southside in the lodge women’s hands, veronica’s history with pop’s and the speakeasy, which has only bloomed in business as the years have gone by, making her feel more than happy with her decision to do so.

 

her project was in safe hands.

 

“shall we go in?” hermione asks, and cheryl nods once, veronica grinning at her widely before she loops her arm into her mother’s and makes her way inside, fred following after them shortly after with a chuckle.

 

cheryl pauses just for a moment, looking up at the shopping center and squeezing toni’s hand, causing her wife to look at her with a frown of concern.

 

“are you okay, baby?” toni asks softly, caressing cheryl’s forearm with her free hand, and the red haired girl lets out a deep sigh before she smiles and looks to toni with tears shining in her eyes.

 

she’s finally made good on her promise to use that tainted blossom money for _good._

 

and fuck, if it’s not the most amazing feeling in the world…

 

“the money my parents and nana rose left me…the money i got from selling the company…it went to all of this, toni. it went to something that actually did some good in the world. it’s just…overwhelming.” cheryl says shakily, licking her lips and swallowing down the lump in her throat as she stares up at the building once more. toni sighs before she leans in a little closer to cheryl, and it’s quiet for a few moments, the both of them just taking in the building before them, knowing that this is something _they_ did together…

 

“i’m so proud of you, cheryl.” toni whispers suddenly beside her, squeezing her hand and brushing her fingers over the wedding band and the topaz family ring on her left hand as cheryl looks to her with tears of complete and utter joy in her eyes.

 

“we did this together, babe. i’m proud of you, too.” toni hums before she kisses her slowly, and when she pulls back, cheryl can see the excitement in her eyes as she licks her lips and giggles quietly.

 

“i can’t wait to build our home together.”

 

“mmm, neither can i. i’ve already got blueprints ready.”

 

\--------------------

 

**one year later**

 

“toni, keep going, _god-._ ”

 

a choked out whine escapes cheryl’s lips as her hold on the head between her legs tightens, fingers fisting pink and brown hair as she bucks her hips up against toni’s mouth desperately before she shudders through her third orgasm of the night, the perfect way to end their three year anniversary, only for toni to not let up for a single second, tongue still lapping at her core eagerly-

 

cheryl inches away from her mouth with a whimper, untangling a hand from her hair and tapping out on their new king sized bed with a flailing hand and a breathless gasp until toni finally pulls her head up to look at her with concern.

 

concern that quickly turns into a smirk as she chuckles and licks her lips distractedly before pressing a kiss below her belly button, moving her way up slowly until she’s hovering above her wife and dipping her head down to press a kiss to her neck, cheryl’s heart thundering against her swollen lips at a rapid pace as she gulps in air to calm herself down and settles back down on their new goose feather pillows with a shaky sigh.

 

“only three? you’re losing your touch, baby…” toni teases, grinning as she nips at cheryl’s pulse point, only for the red haired girl to growl lightly and dig her nails into toni’s bare back, scratching down it harshly to prove a point, even if she kind of agrees with her wife on this one…

 

“we’re not…the same seventeen year olds we once were, t.t…” she breathes, grinning lazily in her post orgasm daze as toni hums softly at the feeling of cheryl’s nails on her skin. 

 

“mmm…happy anniversary, cheryl.” toni whispers, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips that cheryl responds to happily, if not somewhat lazily in her fatigue from the night they’ve had, feeding each other strawberries with chocolate and rolling around in the sheets…

 

“happy anniversary, toni.” cheryl whispers back. toni pecks her lips once more before she chuckles and shakes her head in what seems like disbelief.

 

“three years married, but god…can you believe we’ve really been together for eleven years now? it’s so weird thinking back to how we first started, we were just kids back then, fuck…” toni whispers, moving off cheryl to collapse down beside her tiredly, and cheryl props herself up on her elbow, biting down on a bare bottom lip and raising her hand to brush it over toni’s sweat soaked stomach lightly, drawing patterns as she processes her words.

 

thinking about how they had met at the hospital, how their first interaction had been toni coughing and spluttering while cheryl had held ice to her neck thanks to jacob topaz and is uncontrollable rage…thinking about their confrontation in the hallways of riverdale high, it’s just all so strange. they were just kids, but even then…the things they had to deal with…it’s enough bad shit mixed in with good to last at least eight lifetimes, but it happened to them within the span of eleven years, it just feels so _strange…_ to know what her life has been for so long now…

 

“eleven years together, t.t. it almost doesn’t seem real…we’ve been through so much…” cheryl croaks out, watching as toni’s eyes soften before they trail down her body to the burn on her thigh, still stretched out, still marring her skin, if not just a little bit more healed as the years have gone by…

 

toni exhales shakily, her hand moving down to brush over the scar before cheryl moves the hand on her stomach around to the one on her side where she was stabbed, a surgical scar joining it now with a similar one on the other side of her body as well.

 

so many scars, accumulated before and after they even knew each other…little stories, mapping out their existence apart and together, proof that they’ve lived…but that they’re still here, still together, still just as in love as they were eleven years ago…

 

“i love you.” cheryl whispers, leaning in just that bit closer as toni smiles and settles down on the pillow, inching closer to her wife until their bodies are intertwined, limbs entangled, cheryl’s lips resting on toni’s collarbone while toni places her chin on top of cheryl’s head.

 

“i love you, too.” 

 

they simply lay there for a few moments, fingers dancing across scarred skin, and cheryl doesn’t miss the deep sigh toni lets out when her fingers brush over cheryl’s own surgical scar on her side before they move up to brush over the slightly faded serpent tattoo on her shoulder, and cheryl brushes her own fingers over the serpent tattoo on toni’s ribcage as she smiles against her skin, relishes in the thrumming of her strong heartbeat, proof that they’re alive, they’ve survived everything that’s happened to them…

 

cheryl’s fingers trace over toni’s spine, and the pink haired girl hums softly before she chuckles into cheryl’s hair.

 

“i can’t believe we’re finally in our new home…this last week has been so crazy, and we’re not even done, there’s still so many boxes that need unpacking…” toni groans, moving her hand up to scratch her nails against the side of cheryl’s scalp, something she knows always sends the redhead into a daze as she involuntarily lets out a purr that has toni laughing against her.

 

“at least all the big stuff is done, t.t. the furniture and the big boxes, god, this week has been torture…”

 

“mmm, but it’s so rewarding, knowing we put all this work in to build our home and now it’s finally all done. we did this together, by ourselves, cheryl. oh, and with mayor andrews and archie.” toni says with a chuckle. cheryl smiles and presses a kiss to her collarbone before she pulls back, glancing around their new room with nothing but happiness.

 

it’s so different, from her room in thistlehouse and thornhill, a mixture of toni’s style and cheryl’s style, gothic visuals mixed with an artistic aesthetic, toni’s photographs plastered all over the walls…it’s different but so welcoming…cheryl loves it. she loves the whole goddamn house. her dream house, her dream life, with toni…

 

it’s smaller than thornhill and thistlehouse put together, but still large enough for their future, for what cheryl wants…what she knows toni wants, too…but she knows there’s no reason for her to keep this conversation at bay any longer. they have their home now, everything’s in place, there’s no point in holding it off.

 

cheryl licks her lips nervously before finally, _finally_ , letting out something that’s been resting so dormant in her for weeks now…

 

“you know…this house is big, and it feels awfully empty already…” cheryl croaks out, pulling back slightly and looking up into toni’s eyes to see her frowning in confusion as she purses her lips.

 

“well you’re the one who went ahead and built four extra bedrooms-.” toni seems to just cut herself off, her eyes immediately widening slowly as she gasps softly and looks down at cheryl for just a few moments before she’s pulling away slowly and sitting up on the bed, looking down at her with this look in her eyes that cheryl can’t read at all.

 

“i…you want…” toni trails off, words seeming to escape her as cheryl slowly sits up as well, teeth gnawing on her bottom lip nervously as she tries to read toni’s face, but it’s like the girl’s completely shut down, and _fuck-_

 

they have talked about this, yes it was at least a year ago now, but toni said she wanted this-

 

“toni, i…we’ve spoken about it before, you said you wanted to have children, i-.”

 

“no, no, i…i _do_ , cher, god, i do, it’s just…” toni trails off, licking her lips in hesitation as cheryl watches her patiently, and it takes a few moments before toni reaches out to grip her hand, leaning in closer and squeezing it tightly with a shaky exhale as she does. 

 

“i…cher, are…are you ready, are _we_ ready for that? having a kid is a big step-.”

 

“i know…but we both agreed that we wanted to at some point…what’s a better time than now? we have our home, my law firm is about to kick off, _the register_ is quickly becoming the most read newspaper from here to greendale because of your crime articles, and truthfully, we’re not getting any younger, it’s…it’s the perfect time, toni.” cheryl says hoarsely, tears welling in her eyes as she places her hand over toni’s stomach once more, caressing it softly…the thought of a baby, _their_ baby being in there one day…the thought of a baby being in her _own_ belly…something she’s always secretly wanted, her nights spent wondering what it would be like, to carry a baby in her stomach, to give birth, to be a _mother_ , and not at all the kind of mother her own was, but a _real_ one, a _better_ one than penelope blossom ever was…

 

“you…yeah, okay, you…you really wanna do this, cher? you wanna h-have a k-kid with me-.” toni stutters out before she’s suddenly bursting into tears, and for a hot second, cheryl thinks it’s because she doesn’t want to do this, that she’s changed her mind, that maybe toni’s actually _terrified_ of the idea of having children with her, and she blanches, wincing and whimpering before she reaches out and grabs toni’s arm-

 

the pink haired girl throws herself on top of cheryl and kisses her deeply, the tears from her eyes falling onto cheryl’s face as cheryl wraps her arms around toni’s body and holds her close, kissing her just as passionately-

 

“let’s have a kid, cher. i wanna have a kid with you-.” toni breathes between kisses, moving her lips down to cheryl’s neck as the red haired girl giggles against her in euphoria, flipping them over on the bed easily as toni groans against her loudly from the action.

 

they’re going to do this…they’re going to have a kid…holy shit, toni wants this, she wants this, it’s actually _happening-_

 

“let’s get started then…” cheryl whispers, lips trailing down to toni’s neck before she moves further south, wanting nothing more than to pleasure her wife as the pink haired serpent raises an eyebrow and chuckles, sniffing back her tears and watching cheryl with nothing but affection.

 

“pretty sure that’s not how it’s gonna work for us, baby, but i’m not compla- _fuck…_ ”

 

\-------------

 

**nine months later**

 

“cher?”

 

toni raps her knuckle against the door, preparing herself for the sight that she’s seen three times now…the sight of her wife sobbing on the floor of the bathroom with a negative pregnancy test in her hands, the both of them clinging to each other with nothing but despair over another failed ivf treatment.

 

the last nine months have been nothing short of a nightmare, and it’s not easy for toni to realize that within these nine months of them trying, they could’ve had a baby already, but she pushes those thoughts aside every time they come up, because god, it’s no one’s fault, and watching cheryl suffer through this has been the worst part of all of it.

 

she can’t watch cheryl go through that again, she can’t…she needs this to work, they both do, please…please, god…

 

it’s not rocket science, not to toni at least, the reason for cheryl’s problems with her fertility. she spent seventeen years and a good chunk of her puberty being harassed and tortured by penelope blossom, forced not to eat full meals, to stay skinny and perfect by blossom standards, and because of it, she never developed properly.

 

it’s a cruel twist of fate, the fact that they haven’t seen hair or hide of that awful woman for almost twelve years now, but still… _still_ she was finding a way to ruin cheryl’s life…

 

but toni doesn’t blame cheryl, reassures her every day that this is _not her fault_ , and toni almost wants to tell cheryl that she’ll carry the baby instead, is more than willing to do so, but cheryl’s so adamant on it, had told from the first day they started this process that all she’s ever wanted is to experience what pregnancy is like, and toni doesn’t want to be the one to take that from her…

 

_please, let this one be positive…_

 

“cher, can i come in?” toni croaks out, slowly pushing the door open with her eyes squeezed shut in fear, but when she opens them to find cheryl on the bathroom floor, tears falling down her cheeks and her face screwed up in anguish as the pregnancy test in her hand trembles in her fingers, toni’s knees buckle and her heart just… _breaks._

 

_not again…not again, please…_

 

it’s so fucking _heartbreaking_ , not just for cheryl, but for toni too, because they’ve been waiting nine months for this, and god, toni wants a child so badly, not just any child, but a child with _cheryl_ , but the world was so fucking against them…

 

“fuck…fuck, it’s okay…it’s okay, cher, we can t-try again, we c-can, shh, don’t cry…” toni chokes out, her own tears falling in her despair as she collapses down beside cheryl and immediately reaches out to grab her, to hold her close and try to repair the broken parts of her that just keep getting hurt, but cheryl looks up at her-

 

and smiles.

 

“it’s n-not negative.” she breathes, tears still falling down her cheeks as she hiccups once.

 

toni’s heart stops.

 

her mouth goes dry, her whole body turning hot as she glances down at the pregnancy test to see a plus sign, that’s definitely a plus sign, oh _fuck-_

 

“it’s…positive?” toni chokes out, taking the pregnancy test from cheryl’s hand and looking down at it, trying to burn the sight of that plus sign into her brain as if her doing so will make it even more true despite the evidence right in front of her that this isn’t a joke or a prank-

 

“it’s positive, toni.” cheryl whimpers. toni looks up at her, eyes wide before she whines loudly and swallows down the lump in her throat, her heart is pounding so fucking fast…

 

nine months…nine months and she’ll be a mother-

 

“we’re gonna have a baby?” she somehow manages to get out, voice pitched five times higher than usual as cheryl sobs and immediately wraps her arms around toni’s neck with a nod.

 

“we’re gonna have a baby!” she cries.

 

toni holds her close, cries into her shoulder and squeezes her as nothing but happiness floods her, and god, cheryl’s holding her so tightly, but all toni can think about is the fact that their baby is growing inside of her right now-

 

“stand up, cher, stand up-.” toni chokes out, pulling away from her and helping cheryl up to her feet slowly before she’s falling right back down onto her knees and gripping cheryl’s hips, pulling her close and lifting her shirt to press kiss after kiss to her stomach.

 

cheryl threads her fingers through pink hair, smiling through her tears as toni looks up at her with nothing but adoration and affection-

 

cheryl bends down, grips toni’s face in her hands and kisses her deeply, and toni holds her close before it hits her that there’s a million things they need to do now-

 

“we…we need to get you to the hospital, get check-ups, and scans, and…and we need to make the n-nursery and we n-need to read books, _lots and lots of books-._ ” toni pulls away, eyes wild as she scans the bathroom, this realization hitting her all at once that cheryl is pregnant, is _actually_ pregnant-

 

“toni…toni! breathe!” cheryl grips her face once more, concern gripping her as toni lets out a whimper and grips her wrists to steady herself.

 

“breathe…in and out, t.t., come on…” cheryl inhales through her nose before exhaling through her mouth, and toni bites down on her trembling bottom lip before she complies and imitates her, taking deep breaths in and trying to calm herself down as best she can, focusing on the feeling of cheryl’s fingers brushing over her cheekbones, on her own fingers curled around cheryl’s wrists so tightly…

 

“cher…we…fuck, can we _do this?_ your mother was nothing but a horrible woman and my mother d-died when when i was s-so young, i’ve lived m-more of my life without her than with her, we…do we even know how to be mothers?” toni croaks out, the fear gripping her and almost making her hyperventilate once more because it’s nothing but the truth.

 

her mother died when she was ten, and penelope blossom was a hideous excuse for a mother, what do they know about being parents when they lived their lives with either abusive, shitty ones or dead ones?

 

fuck, she can’t be a parent, she’s going to ruin this kid’s life-

 

“toni, look at me!” cheryl breathes, pinching her cheek lightly to get her attention as toni draws in ragged breaths and bites down on her trembling bottom lip with a whimper, causing cheryl’s eyes to soften as she brushes away toni’s tears with a soft smile.

 

“we can do this, toni. we just need to take it one step at a time, babe, but we can do this. we can, toni, i believe in that with all my heart.” cheryl reassures her, smiling as toni grips her waist to pull her closer until their foreheads are resting against each other’s.

 

fuck, she can’t doubt them now, cheryl was finally fucking pregnant, but all of this is just so overwhelming, that little plus sign making it all _real_ …

 

“i know…i know, i’m sorry, i j-just-.”

 

“mmm, don’t be sorry, t.t. i get it. but we’re in this together and we’re going to make sure we do it _right._ you’re going to be a mother, toni topaz…we both are. together…” 

 

those words seem to just knock the life out of toni for a moment, but looking up into cheryl’s eyes, she feels nothing but bravery rush through her, and she leans her head up to press a kiss to those full lips she loves so much before she pulls away with a small but firm nod.

 

they’re going to be mothers.

 

and as terrifying as it is, toni knows, deep down, that truthfully…

 

god, she can’t _wait._

 

\--------------

 

**five months later**

 

“mmm, god, toni…that feels so good…”

 

cheryl groans as toni’s thumb digs into the arch of her foot, her toes curling instinctively as her wife grins widely and uses her other hand to massage her ankle slowly. 

 

cheryl had come bursting through the front door of their home over an hour ago, looking beyond enraged after a full day in court with a client who was dumber than a doorknob and facing robbery charges despite not being guilty at all from what she observed of the security tapes, and toni had immediately sat her down for dinner (spaghetti bolognese made from scratch), had drawn her a bath with milk soap and calming essential oils, had soaked in it with her for a good forty minutes before they retired to their bed so toni could begin her daily massage.

 

she enjoys pampering the shit out of her wife, sue her.

 

cheryl is incredibly swollen despite only being five and a half months pregnant, and toni had been _terrified_ for a few moments that cheryl was possibly having twins, even though they made sure their sperm donor had no twins in his family whatsoever due to cheryl’s family history of nothing _but_ twins, but scan after scan has shown only one baby is resting inside that belly of hers, their doctor reassuring them that cheryl’s just a little more swollen than most woman because she spends so much goddamn time on her feet, and because she’s just built that way.

 

they’ve argued about this endlessly, but toni thinks one more argument might just tip her over the edge to see things in her favor-

 

“cher, i’ve told you this a hundred times, you can stop working. it’s not like we don’t have enough money funneling in from a hundred different places, we have enough to support us until we’re old and grey already-.”

 

“i know, toni, but i’ve told _you_ a hundred times…just because i’m pregnant, doesn’t mean i’m incapable.” cheryl sighs, wincing when toni digs just a little too harshly into her foot, the limb twitching in toni’s hold as she looks up at her apologetically.

 

“sorry, baby…still, you need to know when to stop. no one’s going to think any less of you for taking time off work when you’re _pregnant_ , cheryl.” 

 

toni watches as cheryl sighs deeply, but says nothing more, and she quickly finishes off massaging cheryl's feet before she crawls her way up the bed until her face is right beside cheryl’s belly, her hands immediately resting on top of it as she presses a kiss to it with a grin.

 

“tell mommy she’s being stubborn and she needs to stop, little bean.” toni sighs, staring at her belly with a frown as cheryl rolls her eyes and rests one her hands on top of toni’s, the other reaching for her book on parenting on her bedside table.

 

“stop calling it ‘little bean’, it’s not that size anymore.”

 

“stop calling her ‘it!’ then!” toni bites back playfully. cheryl chuckles and cocks an eyebrow as she opens her book up to the spot she’s at, not even paying attention to how toni uses two fingers to walk over cheryl’s stomach while humming a tune under her breath.

 

“we don’t know if it’s a ‘she’ yet…one more week.” cheryl sighs, eyes on her book before toni suddenly laughs and shakes her head with amusement.

 

“it’s a girl.” she says firmly. cheryl looks at her with a cocked eyebrow and a grin.

 

“oh yeah? what makes you so sure?” 

 

“mother’s intuition.” toni mumbles, grinning cheekily as she rests her chin right on top of cheryl’s stomach and simply dances her fingers over the top of it, still humming that tune and causing cheryl to giggle despite herself from the feeling of her fingers pinching the fabric of her nightgown. toni grins up at her before she moves her book away from cheryl’s face and presses a quick kiss to her lips.

 

“do you want a girl or a boy?” she murmurs against them, and cheryl sighs and scratches her free hand up and down toni’s back with a soft smile.

 

“i don’t care what gender they are, as long as they’re healthy and happy, t.t.” cheryl whispers, and toni smiles, kissing her slowly once more before she knocks their foreheads together.

 

“me too. maybe we should wait until you give birth, cher. not find out the gender till then.” toni suggests, moving her way back down to cheryl’s stomach as the red haired girl shrugs and runs her fingers through toni’s hair before turning back to her book nonchalantly.

 

“i’m fine with that. i was planning on decorating the nursery with gender neutral colors, anyway.” she says simply. toni grins widely at that, a slight purr escaping her at the feeling of cheryl’s fingers in her hair before she presses a kiss to cheryl’s stomach excitedly.

 

“okay, story time!” toni says in that playful, childish voice that’s exposing a new side of her more and more every day that cheryl never even knew existed in her wife.

 

her motherly side.

 

“go on, but if you keep doing this every night, you’re going to run out of stories.” cheryl says with a chuckle, focusing her eyes on her book once more as toni rolls her eyes with a scoff and looks down at her belly with a warm smile.

 

“we’re southside serpents, baby, we’ve got enough stories to last this kid to college. anyway…so one time, uncle fangs and uncle sweets were at the lakeside, and-.”

 

toni gasps suddenly, and cheryl’s mouth drops open as she stares down at her stomach in complete and utter shock.

 

she felt that.

 

so did toni.

 

“oh my god…oh my god, did…cher, did you feel that? she-ah!” toni’s eyes widen impossibly more, staring at her stomach in awe as cheryl almost chokes on a sob, dropping her book and resting her hand over toni’s as the same feeling happens again.

 

“it’s kicking! toni, it’s kicking, feel!” cheryl shrieks, tears immediately falling down her face as she pushes their intertwined hands down on her stomach to get a better feel, and toni does the same, the both of them watching her stomach with ragged breaths before-

 

“oh my god! oh my god, she can hear us, she can hear us, cheryl!” toni cries out, tears welling in her eyes and spilling over as she bends down close to cheryl’s stomach with an almost hysterical giggle.

 

“hi! hi little bean! it’s mommy! can you kick for me?” toni asks in that high pitched voice again, cheryl watching with anticipation before she feels the small thump on her left side-

 

“cheryl! you felt that, right?!” toni exclaims, and cheryl almost wants to reprimand her because of course she can, but this…

 

the baby’s kicking. their baby, it’s kicking, it’s in there, it’s their child…

 

“i…our baby…toni, that’s our baby in there…” cheryl breathes, this complete and utter surreal and bizzare feeling gripping her, tears falling before toni lets out a breathless laugh and reaches up to cradle cheryl’s face in her hands.

 

“i love you, cheryl.” she whispers before she’s kissing her wife deeply, moving one hand down to intertwine with the one resting on top of her stomach, where the baby is still kicking as cheryl sobs against her happily.

 

“keep…keep talking, toni, tell the story…” cheryl chokes out against her lips, and toni pulls back with a sniff before she settles down on her stomach on the bed with her head close to cheryl’s belly, the both of them watching enraptured as they try to feel each kick, each stir the baby makes…

 

\---------------

 

_four months later_

 

“baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabe!?”

 

toni’s ears perk up at the sound of cheryl’s voice, and she curses under her breath before she quickly begins settling down the plate of pancakes, the bowl of cherries and the glass of orange juice onto the tray before she’s picking it up and dashing out of the kitchen and into the main hallway to climb up the stairs.

 

“coming! don’t move!” toni yells out. she hears the sound of cheryl grunting before she’s rushing into their bedroom with a gigantic grin on her face, panting slightly from exertion as her eyes land on cheryl pushing herself up into a seated position on the bed with a wince, her hands clutching her stomach with a look of pure discomfort on her face.

 

she’s only been getting more and more swollen as the months have gone by, and toni would be lying if she said she isn’t concerned with just how big cheryl has gotten, but the doctor simply kept reassuring them that there was nothing wrong, and toni knows there isn’t, but still…

 

but when cheryl’s eyes meet toni’s and she sees the tray of breakfast in her hands, her expression softens, her face turning up into the warmest smile that has all of toni’s fears melting away as she makes her way over to her wife with nothing but adoration shining in her eyes.

 

“toni, what…it’s _your_ birthday! _you_ should be getting breakfast in bed!” cheryl exclaims, shaking her head in disbelief with a chuckle as toni rests the tray on the bed beside her and quickly crawls into the space next to her.

 

“it _is_ my birthday, and i wanna spend the morning of it spoiling my very pregnant wife! open up!” toni grabs one of the cherries and holds it above cheryl’s mouth, and the red head rolls her eyes before she takes it off the stem with her teeth and chews on it happily.

 

“mmm…happy birthday, toni.” cheryl says softly, smiling as she chews on the cherry while toni grins and pecks a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.

 

“thank you, baby. are you sure you’re gonna be okay while i’m at work?” toni asks with concern, and cheryl rolls her eyes and adjusts herself with a heavy pant, toni staring in concern as her stomach seems to just expand even more before she grabs a pancake from the plate and rips it in half, folding it into a taco and holding it up to toni, who takes a bite before cheryl does the same.

 

“you ask me this every day, t.t. and every day i tell you-.”

 

“you’re pregnant, not incapable, i _know._ but…” toni swallows her mouthful of food with a shake of her head and a frown of worry.

 

“you’re thirty-eight weeks now, cher, which means you’re full term, which means she’s coming any second now. and you’ve been feeling like crap for the last three months, you can barely move out of bed and you’re ankles and your back hurt all the time…i’m just worried, that’s all, i don’t like leaving you in the house alone like this.” toni says with a sigh.

 

it’s true, cheryl’s pregnancy hasn’t been easy. she was getting bigger and bigger with each passing day, something that just made her more hormonal and more upset every time she looked in the mirror and caught a glimpse of her now swollen body, to the point where toni’s made it her goddamn mission to avoid all the mirrors in the house whenever she’s with cheryl, and yes, it’s true, she’s barely been able to get out of bed on most days, but toni hasn’t minded being at her beck and call…

 

cheryl’s her wife and she loves her, and she’s carrying their child…toni would go to the ends of the goddamn earth for her, but that doesn’t make her any less worried about just how difficult this pregnancy has been for her…

 

cheryl licks her lips before she curls her finger towards herself, indicating to toni to lean in, which she does. cheryl presses a slow kiss to her lips, humming softly against them before she scratches at the back of her neck and nods once.

 

“i’ll call josie and ask her to come over to keep an eye on me, will that make you feel better?” she asks with a smile, and toni grins and kisses her again with a nod.

 

“yes. thank you.”

 

“mmm, you’re welcome. i can’t believe you made me breakfast in bed on _your_ birthday, toni…you’re the best wife i could’ve ever asked for.” cheryl says softly, and toni grins before she simply shrugs.

 

“it’s okay-.”

 

“no, seriously, t.t, you’ve…god, from day one of me being pregnant, you’ve waited on me hand and foot. you’ve done _everything_ , you’ve cleaned the house, you’ve gone grocery shopping, you’ve helped me waddle around the place, you’ve drawn me a bath and given me massages, all while still working, it’s just…god, _i love you_ , i know i say it every day, but i really need you to hear it this time because i do. i know this pregnancy hasn’t been a cakewalk for either of us, but your support means the world to me…” cheryl croaks out, gripping toni’s hand in her own tightly and watching with a smile as toni blinks back tears before she rakes her fingers through cheryl’s hair and presses a kiss to her brow.

 

“cher, doing all of that stuff…it’s not a task, or something that i’m doing just because you’re carrying our baby. i’m doing it because i promised, from the second that i rescued you from that hellhole your mother threw you into, that i’d look after you no matter what. and when i put that ring on your finger, i extended that into a promise that i plan to keep for the rest of my life. that includes trying to make you as comfortable as possible when you’re carrying a five pound baby in your uterus.” toni says firmly, resting her hand on cheryl’s swollen stomach, where the baby kicks at her invading hand, causing cheryl to groan.

 

“ugh, it’s been kicking all morning, woke me up…” toni frowns and bends down closer to her stomach with a playful scrunched up face of anger.

 

“monkey, i know you’re excited to come out, but stop kicking mommy when she’s trying to sleep.” toni sighs, smoothing a hand over cheryl’s stomach as her wife sighs tiredly and sinks into the pillows. toni watches her with concern before she leans in to press a kiss to her brow.

 

“i can tell alice i’m not coming in today, cher, she knows you’re pregnant and about to burst, it’s not like she’ll demand i come in, and if she does, i’ll give her a piece of my mind.” toni murmurs against her skin, and cheryl scoffs before she looks up at toni with amusement.

 

“we watched that woman pull a saturday night special out on a bunch of ghoulies with no fear, she definitely won’t be afraid of you, _tiny._ ” cheryl teases, causing toni to gasp at the use of sweet pea and fangs’s nickname for her.

 

“low blow, cher, low.” cheryl chuckles softly, squeezing her hand with a low hum.

 

“mmm, go to work, t.t. can you do me a favor on your way back, though?” cheryl asks, tilting her head up to pepper toni’s jaw with kisses as the pink haired girl smiles and nods once.

 

“of course, baby. anything…” toni says without hesitation. cheryl smiles and grips toni’s face in her hands before she kisses her softly and pulls back with a pout.

 

“buy that chocolate cookies and cream ice-cream i like from greendale?” she asks sheepishly. toni cocks an eyebrow, chuckling under her breath before she pecks cheryl’s lips and nods again.

 

“okay. i might be back later than usual then, i’ll get my favorite and your favorite, and then we can spend my birthday in bed watching movies, okay?” 

 

“mmm, sounds romantic. i love you.” toni grins widely, kisses her once again before she replies.

 

“i love you. and i love you!” toni squeals, bending down to kiss cheryl’s stomach before she’s grabbing a pancake and shoving it into her mouth while jumping off the bed to grab her work bag. 

 

“remember to call josie!” she yells through her mouthful of food.

 

cheryl’s laugh echoes all the way out down the stairs into the hallway, and toni tightens the strap of her bag on her back before grabbing her helmet and her bike keys and heading out of the door.

 

not for the first time, does toni, in the later hours of the day, realize that she should’ve trusted her instincts.

 

because of course, at exactly twelve in the afternoon, her phone begins ringing loudly, toni ignoring it for just a hot second to finish typing out the sentence she’s working on in case she loses it before alice looks up at her with a raised eyebrow.

 

“toni-.”

 

“on it, one sec!” toni says quickly, finishing out her sentence and ignoring alice’s low chuckle before she sighs in relief and answers the call with a smile, thinking it’s more than likely going to be her wife asking her when she’s coming home…

 

“hello?”

 

“toni! it’s josie, you need to get to the hospital!” 

 

toni’s heart immediately _plummets._

 

“what happened?” she squeaks out, and josie barely gets her sentence out before toni’s jumping out of her seat.

 

“her water broke an hour ago, we just got here-.”

 

“i’m on my way!” toni hangs up, and alice doesn’t even need to ask before she’s jumping out of her seat as well and throwing the keys of the office to toni.

 

“lock the place up, i’ll drive!”

 

\------------

 

toni topaz has never been one to believe in the idea of love at first sight.

 

when she met cheryl, truthfully, toni had definitely been intrigued by her, had definitely wanted to know more about her, but she’d be lying if she said that she’d fallen in love with her the second she’d laid eyes on her.

 

cheryl would always pout with fake sadness when toni would confess this to her, but eventually, even she had admitted that it hadn’t been so for her, either. that she had certainly found toni beautiful the first time she laid eyes on her at the hospital, was most certainly just as intrigued by her, but as for falling in love with her on sight? 

 

no. 

 

it just doesn’t seem like something that’s possible. some cliché made up by hollywood to make their films all the more romantic, to set some kind of goal for those still looking for love in the world…

 

but the truth is, it didn’t exist.

 

at least, that’s what toni used to think.

 

until her eyes landed upon their daughter.

 

until she had burst through the doors of the hospital, her heart racing and tears falling down her cheeks until she was reunited with cheryl, until she had witnessed her amazing, strong, insanely brave, _beautiful_ wife, after almost twelve hours of labor, collapse against her hospital bed with a sob of exhaustion before the loud cries of a baby echoed in the room.

 

their baby.

 

the second toni’s eyes landed on her, she was in love.

 

it’s plain and simple, something she never thought was possible because fuck, if she hadn’t fallen in love with cheryl at first sight, then it couldn’t be a real thing, could it? because she loves cheryl more than anything else in this entire goddamn universe, more than the southside, more than the serpents, more than her _family_ , so clearly it’s not a real thing.

 

but their little girl…all flailing limbs and loud screams, covered in goop and blood and amniotic fluid…

 

it was instant infatuation.

 

it’s only been a few hours after her birth, their little girl arriving at eleven forty five, fifteen minutes shy of missing being born on toni’s birthday, and with that knowledge, that now they share the same special day, toni’s positive that this obsession will never end. because yes, it’s only been a few hours, but cheryl and toni are laid out on her hospital bed, the both of them curled into each other with this little baby all bundled up and fast asleep on cheryl’s chest, and neither of them seem capable of moving or saying anything.

 

they just…stare.

 

cheryl only stirs every once in a while, raises a hand to scrape off the bits of dried blood she’s noticing in her endless gazing from the baby’s body or hair…hair that’s already so thick and bright, bright red…

 

but other than that, they’re still as statues, observing in awe, every little movement their little girl makes…

 

“i don’t think i’ve ever seen anything so beautiful…” cheryl croaks out eventually, her voice raspy from the hours she spent screaming in pain while toni watched on with tears in her eyes, helpless to do anything to relieve the torture her wife was going through…

 

_it was worth it. it was worth it for **her.**_

 

but still, toni, ever romantic little toni topaz, gazes down at cheryl with the warmest smile, taking in her still sweat matted hair plastered to her face, her flushed cheeks and chest, as red as the hair atop her head, her swollen body and the bags under her eyes and still….

 

“i have.” toni whispers.

 

cheryl finally, finally tears her gaze away to look up at her wife with the softest look in her eyes, a look that has toni leaning in to press a kiss to her sweat soaked brow as cheryl’s eyes flutter tiredly at her touch, her hand moving to gently cover the baby’s back, tears welling in both their eyes over just how _small_ she is, cheryl’s hand covering almost her entire body easily…

 

“i’m so sorry, toni…i didn’t want her to come on your birthday-.”

 

“cheryl, stop it. do you know how fucking _awesome_ it is, knowing i share the same birthday with our daughter? don’t be crazy, this is the best fucking birthday gift i’ve ever gotten.” toni breathes, still in complete disbelief that their daughter is _actually_ here…

 

“mmm…i love you.” cheryl croaks out, and toni smiles and simply presses a kiss to her hair, doesn’t need to say it back after twelve years together because she knows _cheryl knows_ , stroking her fingers through it as cheryl settles into her with her eyes still on their baby daughter. it’s quiet for a few more moments, toni gazing up at the clock that tells them it’s four in the morning as she fights back a yawn before licking her lips with hesitation.

 

“cher…do you wanna name her after nana rose?” toni murmurs into her hair, one hand playing with the red locks that fall limply around cheryl’s shoulders while the other hand brushes a thumb over their baby’s forehead in a soft stroke that has the baby fussing against cheryl’s chest.

 

cheryl exhales shakily before she licks her lips and, to toni’s surprise, shakes her head, her free hand moving to interlace with toni’s as a soft smile takes over her face.

 

“actually…i want to name her after your mother, t.t.” cheryl breathes out in exhaustion, her eyelids drooping slightly as toni feels her heart immediately begin to pound wildly against her chest.

 

she stares down at their little baby, with her head full of red hair and her pouty lips, and she tries to imagine what it would be like if her mother was here with them now…tries to imagine how she would laugh, how she would cry, how she would hug toni close and tell her she’s so proud of her…

 

“she’s here with us, toni. they all are.” cheryl whispers softly, knowing exactly what’s going on in her wife’s mind, and toni says nothing, just leans forward and rests her lips against cheryl’s skin before she nods against her slowly.

 

it’s quiet for a few moments before cheryl suddenly speaks up again, a soft smile on her face as she lets out a tired sigh.

 

“mercedes roseanne topaz…has a nice ring to it.” she croaks out.

 

toni smiles into her hair at those words, the memories of the day they spent in the tub, the day cheryl had asked to join the serpents, the day she had asked cheryl to marry her in the ruins of thistlehouse as well running through her mind, from southside serpent girlfriends to southside serpent fiancées to _this_ as she strokes her fingers through red hair before she notices cheryl’s grip on mercedes getting slack, and she presses a kiss to her hair and whispers into her ear.

 

“get some sleep, you’re exhausted, cher.” cheryl makes a weak noise of protest as toni jumps up off the bed, and she chuckles and leans in to kiss her lips gently before she’s very carefully maneuvering the baby off of cheryl’s chest to hold her in her own arms instead.

 

“we’re gonna be right here, baby, aren’t we, mercedes? you tell mommy we’re not going anywhere, we’re staying right here while she sleeps so we can stare at her, and think about how beautiful she is, and how much we love her…” toni sing songs, rocking the baby back and forth in her arms before she looks up at cheryl to find her already fast asleep, eyelashes fluttering as her whole body seems to just relax into the bed slowly. 

 

she chuckles under her breath, gazes down at the baby in her arms before she smiles and strokes her finger down mercedes’s nose, something her mother used to do to her to get her to fall asleep…

 

and when mercedes actually shifts in her arms before the smallest smile takes over her face, toni finds herself falling in love just that little bit more.

 

\--------------------

 

**two months later**

 

the shrill echo of loud crying hits cheryl’s ears, immediately pulling her out of her state of unconsciousness as she looks at the clock to see the numbers three and seventeen staring back at her before the warm arm draped around her waist tightens and a loud groan echoes in her ear.

 

“i’ve got her…” toni grumbles, throwing the covers off herself before cheryl grabs her arm and pulls her back down before she can get very far, shaking her head with a smile as she does.

 

“you got her last time. sleep, t.t.” she murmurs as she slowly slides out of the bed and relinquishes her hold on toni, who simply whines in protest for half a second before she’s rolling over onto her back and rubbing her tired eyes.

 

cheryl blinks the fatigue away from her own as she shuffles like zombie towards the cot in the corner of the room, the cries from their baby growing louder and louder.

 

mercedes topaz is one of those babies that cries a goddamn hurricane into the sky when she’s upset, one of those babies that takes over fifteen to twenty minutes to calm back down, and one of those babies that doesn’t like being away from her mothers for too long. and despite the complete and utter lack of sleep they’ve gotten over the last two months, despite how tired and sore their bodies are from constantly catering to their little girl’s needs…

 

cheryl and toni have truthfully never been happier.

 

cheryl coos softly with a smile as she bends down over the cot, taking in mercedes’s face screwed up in anguish as she wails loudly, and all it does it break cheryl’s heart to see her in any kind of pain, but regardless, she sniffs back her tears and reaches out to lift her baby out of her cot, a pungent smell immediately hitting her nose that tells her it’s time for a diaper change.

 

she carries her over to the change table, lays her down gently on it before she hears the sound of feet shuffling behind her, and she smiles once more as toni presses a kiss to her shoulder, right over her serpent tattoo before she bends down to grab a fresh diaper from the bottom of the change table.

 

“you can go back to sleep, toni, it’s okay.” cheryl croaks out, unbuttoning mercedes’s onsie before she peels back the diaper slowly, and toni exhales sharply before she stands back up and shakes her head with a smile.

 

“in it together, remember?” she says hoarsely.

 

cheryl smiles at that, unable to stop herself from doing so as she presses a quick kiss to toni’s temple and removes the diaper from under mercedes as her loud cries turn into soft gurgles.

 

“there you go, we’ve got you, monkey…” toni says softly, bending down and pressing a kiss to mercedes’s forehead as cheryl gets to work cleaning her.

 

as soon as they’re done, cheryl lifts mercedes up off the table and carries her to their own bed, placing her in the middle of it as she crawls in beside her while toni does the same on her other side, the both of them watching with tired smiles as her cries taper off into gentle moans and whimpers while she frets on the bed anxiously.

 

“can you believe she’s ours?” toni murmurs, placing her index finger into mercedes’s small fist as she swings it around. cheryl simply shakes her head, tries to process how this small baby was inside her belly only two months ago, how this child will eventually grow up and go to school, fall in love, get married, live a _life_ …

 

her hand subconsciously comes to rest over her almost completely deflated belly, a small, tiny bump still there all these weeks later, but definitely not as big as it was when mercedes was in there…

 

_wow…she was growing inside me for nine months and now she’s here…_

 

“toni…” cheryl bites down on her bottom lip as she looks up at her wife, who stares at their daughter with affection for just a beat longer before lifting her gaze up to meet cheryl’s with an even more affectionate smile.

 

“yeah, baby?” 

 

she can’t believe that this is her life now…a life with toni and their daughter, in this house they built, with a career that just excelled and excelled…can’t believe that she’s gotten her happy fucking ending when the first half of her life so far had been nothing but torture, pain upon agonizing pain…

 

“i love you.” cheryl whispers simply, reaching out to tuck a lock of slowly fading pink hair behind toni’s ear, and her wife smiles before she grabs cheryl’s palm and presses a soft kiss to it.

 

“i love you, too. and…cher, i’ve been thinking…” toni bites down on her lip suddenly, an anxious look in her eyes as she licks her lips and looks down at mercedes, their daughter slowly drifting back off to sleep in the comfort of her spot wedged between her two mothers as toni begins trailing her index finger down mercedes’s nose soothingly…

 

“when mercedes grows a bit older, and we can manage her a bit better…i was thinking…maybe we can have another baby? but i’ll do it this time. pregnancy, carrying our kid…we have to give her a younger brother or sister, right? growing up alone, it’s…” toni swallows thickly, tears in her eyes, and cheryl feels her heart break at the sight, her gaze falling down to their daughter before she bites down on her bottom lip and nods.

 

she doesn’t want mercedes to grow up alone, either…

 

“yeah…i want…i want her to have someone. i had jason for sixteen years, the thought of having to go through being raised by penelope and clifford alone…i don’t want that for her, even if we’ll never, _ever_ be the kind of parents they were…but regardless, i want her to have someone to talk to other than us, someone to be protective of, while also having someone to cry to when we’re too busy at work, or unaware of what’s going on in her life…i do want that, toni. and i think you’d be a lot better at being pregnant than i was.” cheryl says with a watery chuckle, wiping away her tears that fall as toni smiles softly and shakes her head reassuringly.

 

“you were perfect at being pregnant, cher. you’re just a perfect person. _my_ perfect person.” toni croaks out, squeezing her hand tightly before interlacing their fingers as mercedes finally comes to a still on the bed, eyes closed in her deep state of unconsciousness.

 

“i complained a lot.” cheryl grunts, because she did, about how fat she had gotten, about how swollen her ankles and her whole body felt, about her cravings, had burst into tears on more than one occasion because of the hormones and god knows what else, much to toni’s surprise, but…

 

toni was there to reassure her that she’d love her at any weight, that she was still beautiful and she’d remain beautiful until she was old and gray, was there to massage her feet and her body and press loving kisses to her skin that instantly had cheryl relaxing against her touch, was there to hold her while she cried…

 

toni was the perfect one here. and cheryl’s never felt luckier to have her heart, her body, her mind, her soul…

 

toni stifles a loud laugh and shifts slowly, very carefully lifting mercedes into her arms and shuffling off the bed before she carries mercedes back to her cot in the corner of the room.

 

“you had a baby growing inside you, cher, you were allowed to complain as much as you wanted.” toni whispers as she crawls back into the space beside cheryl, who instantly turns on her side and lets toni spoon her, the pink haired serpent’s arm draping over her waist once more before she’s pressing soft kisses to her shoulder again.

 

“mmm, in that case, you can complain as much as you want when you’re pregnant, too, t.t.” cheryl says softly, grinning when she hears toni’s soft laugh in her ear. 

 

“you’re such a dork, go back to sleep.” toni chuckles, and cheryl sighs in content as she relaxes further into toni’s touch, relishing in the feeling of her face nuzzling into the back of her head as she drifts off back to sleep slowly, her mind on one thing and one thing only as her deep fatigue grips her.

 

how fucking perfect her life is.

 

\-----------------

 

**fifteen months later**

 

“it’s unfair!”

 

cheryl crosses her arms over her chest, sinks back down against the couch with an annoyed huff as veronica, josie and betty laugh loudly, watching toni waddle around with her six month pregnant belly in front of her, her hands occupied with mercedes’s hands as she slowly walks them both towards her block of shapes in the center of the living room, their little girl not quite yet able to walk on her own.

 

“cheryl, every woman reacts to pregnancy differently.” betty say with a laugh, rubbing her own swollen stomach fondly as toni raises an eyebrow and grins at cheryl before helping mercedes settle down on the ground.

 

“but you and toni barely even look pregnant! i was the size of a house within five months!” cheryl cries out, watching as toni, whose bump is definitely noticeable, but is clearly not stopping her from completing everyday tasks like walking around with their seventeen month old daughter, laughs and slowly makes her way back over to cheryl, falling down into the seat beside her slowly before throwing an arm around her shoulders.

 

the second she’s sat down, cheryl’s grabbing one of the finger sandwiches on the plate in front of her and holding it up to toni’s mouth.

 

“cher, i-.”

 

“haven’t eaten since breakfast. open up.” cheryl says firmly, and toni rolls her eyes before she takes a bite of the sandwich, cheryl keeping a close eye on mercedes as she smashes two blocks together with a loud scream.

 

“i could barely even move out of the bed, it’s _ridiculous!_ ” cheryl growls, looking to betty grumpily as she continues holding the sandwich up to toni’s face, who takes another bite with a deep sigh while veronica simply shrugs and grabs her glass of water off the table.

 

“well, it’s like betty said, everyone’s different. my mom told me she had morning sickness every day when she was pregnant with me.” veronica says with a light chuckle, and cheryl winces, thanking every god she knows that she didn’t suffer from _that_ as toni laughs and presses a kiss to her temple.

 

“i told you, cher...there’s nothing to be upset about, everyone’s different. and you weren’t that bad, you still went for walks around the house at least…” toni says with a grin, causing cheryl to glare at her as veronica chuckles before she sighs and sinks back into her seat beside cheryl.

 

“sweet pea and i have discussed having a baby, he doesn’t seem interested, and truthfully, i can’t imagine myself being pregnant. maybe somewhere further down the line…” she trails off with a frown, but smiles immediately as mercedes screams again, knocking her blocks repeatedly before looking up at cheryl and toni with a goofy grin plastered on her face.

 

“good job, monkey!” toni says through a mouthful of food with a grin, causing cheryl to roll her eyes at her wife encouraging her violent behavior before she looks to veronica with a frown.

 

“are you sure, ronnie? because if you do want kids, you shouldn’t be giving that up just because sweet pea doesn’t want to. that’s not fair.” cheryl says sternly. veronica sighs and bites down on her bottom lip with a shake of her head.

 

“it works the other way around too, though, cheryl. i can’t pressure him into having kids, either. _that’s_ not fair. i don’t know, it’s just a stalemate position i think.” veronica chews on the inside of her cheek, and cheryl looks to toni, who rolls her eyes before she shrugs and drains the last dregs of water from her glass.

 

“talk to him again. sweet pea’s always been a natural with kids and he practically raised his younger brother because his dad was always busy with serpent stuff. he’ll come around.” toni says softly, smiling reassuringly at veronica, who simply exhales shakily before she looks to josie with a warm smile.

 

“what about you and archie? any plans now that you’ve both tied the knot?” veronica asks with nothing but happiness for her best friend, the sight warming cheryl’s heart that they’ve gotten over this whole “my best friend is dating my ex-boyfriend” thing, and josie suddenly lets out an exasperated sigh as she fiddles with her wedding band, looking down at it morosely.

 

“archie and i have discussed it too, yeah…and…and we’ve seen a doctor…” josie trails off suddenly, cheryl’s attention snapping to her best friend with concern as josie looks up at them with tears in her eyes.

 

“i have something called polycystic ovarian syndrome…i’ve been wondering for so long why my periods haven’t been regular and…now i know. it’s gonna cause some problems with my fertility, but archie keeps reassuring me there’s a bunch of other options we can try if it doesn’t work…” josie says hoarsely, and god, cheryl’s heart _breaks_ at the sight of her expression, filled with sadness as betty sighs and immediately reaches out to grip her hand.

 

“of course there is, josie…you and archie will figure things out.” she says softly. 

 

“yeah, josie, i mean, getting pregnant the first time wasn’t a cakewalk for us either, but it worked out, so it’ll definitely work out for you, okay?” toni says firmly, smiling as josie simply nods once, and cheryl tries to stop her bottom lip from trembling, but her tears spill over before she can stop them as she jumps up and grabs toni’s glass of water from the table.

 

she won’t let josie see her cry-

 

“i’ll get you a refill.” she mumbles to toni before she takes off into the kitchen away from her group of friends and her wife.

 

as soon as she’s around the corner and out of sight, she opens the fridge and grabs a cold bottle of water with trembling hands, tries to unscrew it, but she can’t contain the sobs for much longer-

 

yes, getting pregnant for her had been hard, her ovaries not fully developed thanks to the torture she endured from her mother, the endless abuse and the constant nagging about weight and food consumption, and it actually hadn’t been that easy for toni, either…the girl suffering from her own scar tissue in her abdomen thanks to her hideous uncle, but where cheryl had failed three times, toni had only failed once, had gotten pregnant the second time around much to their euphoria…they made it, they got through it, but the thought of her best friend, of josie having to go through the pain they went through to try and have a baby…

 

“cher? hey…” 

 

the sound of her wife’s voice only makes her cry harder, and toni immediately rushes forward as fast as she can with the weight she’s carrying, her arms reaching out to pull cheryl close as the red head cries into her shoulder in anguish.

 

“i was s-sitting there c-complaining about b-being pregnant, and josie c-can’t-.”

 

“shh…shh, it’s okay, cher…” toni rubs her back soothingly, but the feeling of her swollen belly pressed against cheryl’s flat stomach only makes her cry even more, makes her feel even worse as she pulls away with a soft whimper and a shake of her head.

 

“it’s not! josie and archie don’t d-deserve that, and i feel so…so _horrible_ and god, i was already upset about…about this p-pregnancy being so easy for you, b-because you looked after me, you did everything for m-me, and i w-wanna do the s-same for you-.”

 

“cher, shh…stop being so crazy, you’ve _been_ there for me! you’re always helping me off the bed and helping me shower, and massaging my feet and my back when they hurt! what are you talking about, you’ve been _perfect_ , and it’s like betty said, every pregnancy is different…baby, come on…” toni whispers reassuringly, reaching a hand up to cradle her cheek as cheryl sniffs pathetically and looks up at her with bloodshot eyes and a pouting bottom lip-

 

“you’re so cute, oh my god, come here…” toni breathes with a chuckle, peppering her face with soft kisses before she hugs her close, and cheryl clings to the back of her shirt, trying desperately to stop herself from crying as toni rubs her back with a sigh.

 

“i wish there was something we could do for archie and josie, but they’ll find a way, cher. it’s not something you can control, okay? all we can do is be there for them and-.”

 

“oh my god! oh my god, cheryl, toni! get in here!” 

 

veronica’s voice echoes out, and cheryl and toni exchange a look of complete and utter fear before their dashing into the living room with panicked shouts at the exact same time-

 

“what happened-.”

 

“mercedes! is she okay-.”

 

“look!” veronica breathes, pointing to their daughter standing by her block of toys before she suddenly turns and walks shakily over to the one that’s somehow landed a few feet away from her-

 

wait…

 

“oh my god…oh my god, toni…” cheryl grips her wife’s hand, squeezing it tightly as toni’s bottom lip trembles and a whimper escapes her, the both of them watching as she takes shaky steps with her tongue caught between her teeth-

 

“she’s…she’s walking!” toni squeals, clapping her hands as mercedes waddles over to the block with a loud cackle. cheryl rushes forward to help her, but toni grabs her hand and holds her back with a shake of her head.

 

“wait, let’s see if she can do it on her own.” toni whispers, watching carefully as mercedes bends down on shaky feet, her hand grabbing for the block before she suddenly falls to her knees with a grunt-

 

cheryl and toni both rush over as mercedes begins crying, but the second cheryl picks her up into her arms with excited squeals of praise, the little girl’s cries taper off and turn into loud giggles as cheryl presses kiss after kiss to her face with pride and excitement rushing through her veins-

 

“you walked, monkey! you walked, mommies are so proud of you!” she cries, blinking back tears as toni looks on with nothing but adoration, betty and josie and veronica also cheering to give mercedes that little extra encouragement. mercedes slaps her palms over cheryl’s face with strange, loud cries, and cheryl grabs her little hands to stop her assault before she laughs with happiness and presses a sloppy kiss to her cheek, much to the girl’s displeasure. 

 

toni leans forward to do the same, the both of them annoying her with affection before toni gasps sharply and pulls away with a frown, clutching her stomach with a sigh.

 

“oof, okay, all this excitement is annoying our second little lion cub, let’s tone it down.” she winces, cheryl using one arm to hold up mercedes while she uses her free hand to rest it over toni’s stomach with a frown that quickly turns into a soft smile when she feels the hard thump against her hand. 

 

mercedes fusses in cheryl’s arms, prompting her to lower their little girl back down beside her blocks as veronica laughs and decides to settle down beside her, a grin on her face as she begins playing with the blocks, much to mercedes’s excitement while cheryl focuses her attention on toni, both hands on her stomach while their baby kicks her insides around like a soccer ball.

 

“are you okay?” cheryl asks immediately, watching toni’s face as she winces, but smiles with a small nod.

 

“mhmm, we’re all good. our little girl just took her first steps!” toni sing songs, grinning widely as betty suddenly laughs while mercedes squeals, josie settling down behind mercedes as well and resting their daughter in her lap as their three best friends begin playing with their daughter to distract her and give them their moment.

 

god, cheryl loves them.

 

“she did…soon she’ll be saying her first words.” cheryl says with a proud grin, watching as toni cocks an eyebrow with amusement and crosses her arms over her chest.

 

“if she says ‘mama’ first, she’s totally talking about me. ‘mommy’ is your word.”

 

\--------------

 

**three months later**

 

“mommy!”

 

mercedes topaz jumps down from her position in her uncle fangs’s lap, waddles her way towards her mother as soon as she sees her barge through the front doors of the waiting room as fast as her little legs will carry her, and cheryl immediately scoops her up into her arms, hugs her close with tears in her eyes before she presses a kiss to her bright red curly locks with a shaky smile.

 

“hi monkey! where’s mama?” she asks softly, watching as fangs jumps up from his chair with a slight frown on his face. 

 

“archie and i have got her, red, get in there. she’s been screaming bloody mary for half an hour now, and the doctors haven’t told me anything.” he grunts, the tall boy with his short brown hair atop his head, looking tougher than a cheap steak, melting into a puddle at the sight of his niece giggling in her mother’s arms, completely unaware of what’s happening as he tries to entertain her with silly faces, his mouth dropping open with a gasp of excitement before archie finally comes to a stop behind cheryl and holds his arms up for mercedes to jump into them.

 

“unca arkie!” mercedes squeals, jumping into his open arms as he scoops the little girl up out of cheryl’s arms and into his own with a playful growl.

 

“little mercy! you gonna hang with unca fangs and unca arkie while mommy brings your little bro or sis into the world?” he says giddily, chuckling when mercedes giggles before he turns his attention to cheryl with a look of worry.

 

“she’s in room two eighty five.” he says quietly, and cheryl frowns with immediate concern and quickly presses a kiss to mercedes’s cheek before she takes off towards the rooms of riverdale general hospital, the sound of low moans and whimpers of pain immediately hitting her ears the closer she gets to room two eighty five.

 

she was in court with archie when she got the call that toni was in labor from fangs, fighting a silly little parking ticket fine, and archie had driven her straight here as soon as possible, cheryl too nervous and worried to do so herself-

 

she’s three weeks early, it’s not uncommon, but it’s still causing cheryl’s stomach to twist nervously-

 

“toni?! i’m here!” cheryl cries, barging through the door with tears in her eyes that gaze around the room wildly until they land on toni in her hospital bed with doctors all around her, looks of worry on their faces-

 

_oh god, oh god, **please**_

 

“what’s wrong, what’s happening?!” cheryl demands, rushing to toni’s side as her wife lays in her hospital bed with her feet in stirrups and doctors gathered around her spread legs, but cheryl barely pays attention, is instead taking in toni’s gasps of pain and the sweat dripping off every inch of her face and matting her brown hair to it-

 

“something’s wrong, cher, something’s wrong-.” toni chokes out, her hands flailing for cheryl’s as she immediately grips them between her own and tries her best not to cry and the sight of her wife in so much pain and their unborn baby possibly being in danger-

 

_please, please, i'm begging..._

 

“mrs. topaz, the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, we’re going to need to perform an emergency c-section.” one of the doctors says, looking up at both women with a frown of concern as toni whimpers and cheryl’s heart immediately clenches in horror and anguish. 

 

“oh god…oh god-.”

 

this wasn't happening. this wasn't happening, she's dreaming, having a nightmare, she must be-

 

“cher…” toni’s sobbing and the soft whisper of her name through them causes cheryl’s heart to break even more, but she forces herself to stay strong as the doctor looks up to them with a shake of his head.

 

“it’s not a cause of alarm, but the quicker we get this baby out, the better, okay? usually we can deliver the baby normally with the cord wrapped around the neck, but your baby’s also twisted into what’s called a face presentation breach position, it’s too risky for us to go through with this naturally-.”

 

“then get her into the theatre room, what are we still doing here?!” cheryl growls angrily, the doctor wincing before he jumps up, and cheryl looks down to toni, who is staring at her with nothing but fear in her eyes-

 

“i c-can’t, ch-cher, not another s-surgery, p-please-.” she cries, weeping loudly as cheryl lets her own tears fall and bends down to press a kiss to toni’s sweaty brow fiercely.

 

god, this will be her fourth one in thirty years, it’s not fair, she shouldn’t have to go through this over and over again…how many times can she watch these butchers cut her wife up before it becomes too much?

 

the memories of toni getting stabbed hit her like a tidal wave, and god, all cheryl wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry, but she clenches her jaw and pushes through it because toni...god, toni looks so fucking _scared_ right now...

 

“toni, you can do this, okay? i know it’s hard, babe, but you’re so strong, you’re so, so strong…i’m gonna be right there with you, alright? every step of the way, i promise…” cheryl whimpers, barely wincing at how tightly toni is gripping her hand before the doctors begin to lift the brakes on her hospital bed, toni's eyes widening with panic as she whines loudly.

 

"cher, d-don't leave me-."

 

“i'm not, i'm right here! can i come in with her?” cheryl croaks out, the doctors simply nodding in response as they begin wheeling toni out of the room, cheryl’s hand still clutched in her wife’s as she bustles out after them quickly.

 

“it’s gonna be okay, toni, i promise.” cheryl whispers, pressing kiss after kiss to the back of her hand until they’re barging through the doors of the theatre room, toni letting out a whimper at the familiar sight of bright lights above her…

 

“cher, p-please, i d-don’t wanna do this again!” toni wails loudly, the fear in her heart causing her chest to ache and her breathing to become ragged because she can't fucking _do this again_ as cheryl attempts to enter her line of vision, but a nurse grabs her arm and pulls her away quickly.

 

“you need to put these on now!” she says urgently, holding up a gown and a surgical mask along with a head cover, toni’s cries growing louder now that cheryl’s not by her side-

 

cheryl shoves the gown on over her pantsuit in a rush, throws her hair up into a bun and puts the head cover over it as the nurse ties up her mask for her, and as soon as she’s done, she’s grabbing a chair and pushing it right by toni’s face, entering her line of vision and gripping her hand as the nurse puts a head cover over toni’s brown hair and a nasal cannula over her face-

 

“i’m right here, t.t. look at me, focus on me, okay?” cheryl begs softly, toni’s wide eyes falling on her as she swallows thickly while the doctors place a sheet over her swollen stomach and lift it to hide the procedure from view-

 

_fuck, fuck, this can't be happening-_

 

cheryl and toni both swallow down the bile that rises in their throats, tears falling down their cheeks as the doctor finishes gowning up as well and turns his attention to the two topazes with a reassuring smile before placing his mask over his face.

 

“we’re going to numb you from the waist down, mrs. topaz, but you’re going to be awake for the procedure, alright? you won’t feel a thing, i promise. just focus on your wife, okay?” 

 

god, everything’s happening so fucking fast-

 

“did you hear that, t.t.? focus on me, okay? look at me, toni, come on…” cheryl croaks out, her voice trembling as she squeezes toni’s hand, her wife suddenly wincing in pain from whatever the doctors are doing to her-

 

“breathe, toni, i’m right here…look, t.t., i’m here, look into my eyes…” cheryl whispers, her free hand reaching up to brush her thumb over toni’s forehead as her wife makes eye contact with her and tries her best to take some deep breaths in with a nod. 

 

“there you go, good girl…i love you, toni, i love you so much…” cheryl chokes out, tears falling down her cheeks and staining her face mask with black mascara as toni whimpers and tries to look down at what the doctors are doing-

 

“hey! hey, t.t., remember…remember when we had our first unofficial date at pop’s? remember how we opened up to each other, and we spent _hours_ talking about our lives, getting to know each other? remember how pop tate had to come over and kick us out because it was getting late and we didn’t even realize it, we were so caught up in each other’s presence?” cheryl breathes, grinning widely beneath the mask at the memory despite how hard her heart is pounding in her chest as toni’s bottom lip trembles before she nods slowly.

 

“y-yeah…”

 

“and remember when we would take joyrides on the back of your bike around riverdale? god, we haven’t done that in so long, we need to do it again soon, t.t.” she says softly, smiling fondly as toni does before her eyes suddenly widen and she’s looking down at her covered body with a trembling bottom lip.

 

“i…i c-can’t feel anything, cher! i c-can’t f-feel my b-body-.”

 

“shh, toni, look at me, focus on me, okay? focus on what i’m saying instead! what about…what about our wedding day? god, how perfect was our wedding day?” cheryl whispers, squeezing toni’s hand as the brunette girl whimpers and nods frantically.

 

“we…we slow danced beneath f-fairy lights…”

 

“yeah, we did! and when we cut the cake and you flicked some of it onto my face? you’re such a cheeky little shit.” cheryl chokes out, trying so fucking hard not to panic, laughing through her fear as toni squeezes her hand and lets out a shaky breath with her eyes squeezed shut.

 

“i d-didn’t mean t-to-.”

 

“oh, come on, t.t, you so did! but i didn’t care, because i was so happy…were you happy too?” cheryl asks quickly, doing everything she can to try and distract toni from what’s happening as the doctors continue working, cheryl trying her best not to look at see what they’re doing, trying not to realize that they're cutting her beautiful wife open again, leaving another scar on her perfect body, trying to keep her focus on distracting toni…

 

“it was one of the h-happiest days of my life, ch-cher, and you kn-know it, don’t p-play…” toni croaks out, her head falling back onto the table as cheryl smiles and nods slowly.

 

“mine too, toni. mine too…you’re the best thing to ever happen to me, so is mercedes, and so is our second little monkey that’s gonna come out any second now-.”

 

and like magic.

 

there’s the sound of loud wailing that fills the theatre room as both cheryl and toni’s heads snap up to the where the doctors are, the both of them choking on their sobs before one of the nurses appears from around the almost tent like coverage of toni’s body, a little baby bundled in her arms…

 

“there you go, mommies. a healthy little baby boy.” the nurse says kindly, holding their son up for cheryl and toni to see as they watch him fuss and wail in the nurse’s arms-

 

“a b-boy?” toni gasps out, sobs immediately wracking her chest as cheryl’s heart just aches and aches with a mixture of happines and exhaustion and god, so many other things…

 

_a boy...a little baby boy..._

 

“is h-he okay, is-.” cheryl barely manages to get out before the doctor pops his head up over the sheet covering toni’s body with a chuckle.

 

“we’ll need to do some tests to make sure, but he’s crying, he’s moving without any problems…he’s okay. the cord wasn’t wrapped too tightly around his neck, but his position in your cervix was risky. if we delivered him normally, there’s no doubt that cord would’ve tightened. we’re gonna have to take him away for just a moment to do those tests, alright? by the time we finish stitching you up and wheel you back into your room, those tests will all be done.” the doctor reassures them.

 

cheryl swallows thickly, watching with conflicting emotions as they carry their crying son away, and at the sound of toni’s soft whimper, cheryl pulls the surgical mask down from her face and places a reassuring kiss to the corner of her mouth.

 

_god, what the fuck just happened..._

 

"wait, w-wait, i...i wanna see him, cher-."

 

“i know, he’s going to be okay, toni…he’s going to be okay…”

 

\-----------

 

as promised, their little boy is returned to them within half an hour, cleared of any issues, a perfect, two and a half pound baby that is immediately placed on toni’s chest the second he’s brought into the room.

 

cheryl and toni take at least half an hour for themselves, to process everything that’s happened, to realize that they’ve become mothers once more within seven minutes instead of twelve hours like last time, their minds spinning, but their hearts full at the sight of their healthy baby boy.

 

"god, what the fuck just happened, cher?" toni croaks out, looking up at cheryl in complete and utter disbelief as her wife leans down to press a kiss to her brow with a shaky sigh.

 

"i don't know...fuck, i don't know, toni, but...are you okay? that was crazy, i-."

 

"i know...but i'm okay, i think. i'm just glad he's okay, i was so worried..." toni whispers, looking down at their son with a smile as cheryl exhales and brushes toni's sweat matted hair from her face gently.

 

"you were really scared, toni. so was i...i'm so sorry you had to go through surgery again, i..." cheryl blinks back her tears as toni reaches up to take her hand, squeezing it tightly and letting out a deep breath before she shakes her head slowly.

 

"i was scared, but..as soon as i saw him...it was worth it, i don't care. god, _look at him,_ cher..." toni says hoarsely, brushing her thumb over his head as he gurgles, and cheryl simply gazes down at their little boy, unable to tear her gaze away before toni gasps softly and looks up at her with a tired smile.

 

"tell fangs to bring mercedes in, she needs to meet her little brother, baby." toni breathes, and cheryl licks her lips before she messages fangs to bring their daughter in to meet her little brother.

 

toni’s doped out on morphine, eyes slightly glazed over, but it doesn’t stop her from looking down at her son with nothing but love and affection as a soft knock echoes on the door and fangs walks in with his hand clapsed in mercedes’s small one, archie right behind them as mercedes giggles and separates from fangs to run up to cheryl with a squeal of excitement.

 

“mommy! mama!” 

 

cheryl wipes away her tears and immediately plasters a smile onto her face, scooping her daughter up into her arms and sitting her on her lap in the chair she’s sitting on before she points at the little bundle of joy nestled on toni’s chest.

 

“look, monkey! remember how mommy told you we were gonna have a little brother or sister coming soon? that’s your baby brother, mercedes…” cheryl coos softly, resting her lips against the back of her daughter’s head as mercedes looks on in confusion, clearly not understanding a word cheryl has just said.

 

but regardless, toni smiles at them both lazily as she rubs a hand up and down their baby boy’s back, fangs making his way over to toni with a frown of concern and worry.

 

“you okay, tiny?” he asks softly, watching as she slowly nods before she looks back down at their baby boy with a smile.

 

“jason…” toni croaks out, cheryl’s eyes snapping to her in confusion before toni exhales shakily and looks at her with tears in her eyes.

 

“jason thomas topaz…has a nice ring to it.” 

 

\---------------

 

**six years later**

 

“mercedes! hold your brother’s hand, please!”

 

cheryl jumps out of the car, shoving her phone into her purse as she watches her daughter roll her bright brown eyes before she reaches her pale hand out to grip her brother’s, but the young boy isn’t paying attention, his eyes on the building in front of him, wide and filled with fear-

 

“hey, mom said hold my hand, dingus!” 

 

“shut up, mercedes!”

 

“hey! what did we say about talking to each other like that?” toni chastises from behind jason’s back as she adjusts the straps of his bag, frowning in reprimand at their two children as they both guiltily sigh, mercedes scuffing her foot on the ground while her brother shoves his hands into his pockets.

 

“treat each other with respect and love.” they both mumble under their breaths, jason genuinely looking sorry while mercedes simply rolls her eyes again and flips her long red hair over her shoulder while cheryl bites back a groan at the sight.

 

_god, this is karma biting me in the ass so hard…_

 

“mercedes, drop the attitude, now.” cheryl says firmly, squatting down on her knees in front of her daughter as she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, her tongue poking out between her missing front teeth as she looks at her mother with her full pink lips pouted and her long nose scrunched up in defeat.

 

“mommy, he’s gonna cling to me like a bad smell and embarrass me in front of my friends-.”

 

“it’s his first day of school, mercedes, and it’s your job as his older sister to hold his hand and make him feel safe. he’s scared, monkey, just like you were on your first day, except you had _no one_ to hold your hand and guide you through it. do you really wanna let him go through that, too?” cheryl asks softly, rubbing her hands up and down mercedes’s shoulders as her daughter drops her head down in guilt and shakes it slowly.

 

“no…he’s my brother, i love him and i wanna protect him forever.” she murmurs, and cheryl smiles and blinks back tears as she tucks a finger under her daughter’s chin to lift her gaze.

 

“there’s the good girl your mommies raised. besides, richard, benjamin and sawyer are gonna be there for him to hang out with during lunch time, so he won’t bother you. uncle jug, uncle sweets and uncle fangs already told them to welcome him with open arms into their friend group. all you need to do is walk him to his classes, okay? can you do that for me?” cheryl asks, watching with an even wider smile as mercedes smiles back and nods once, and she leans in to press a kiss to her daughter’s brow before she sniffs back her tears and gets her to spin around, opening the zip of her bag and grabbing the bright red lunchbox with a sandwich, a juicebox and two apples and five bucks just in case inside it from her purse.

 

“thank you, monkey. you’re the sweetest little girl.” cheryl whispers, glancing over at jason and toni as the brunette smiles and grips her son’s shoulders with tears in her eyes.

 

“your _spiderman_ lunchbox is in your bag, it’s got a sandwich and a juicebox and an apple in it, okay? but if you get hungry, mommy left you five bucks in there, you can get something from the cafeteria. if you get scared, look for your cousins or your sister, alright? i know she acts like she doesn’t want to help you, but she will, because she loves you.” toni says firmly, glancing over at cheryl and mercedes, grinning as cheryl winks at her and nods once before she looks back at her son and takes in his slightly green appearance despite his caramel skin tone that’s so like her own with a sigh.

 

“hey, jason, look at me…” she croaks out, watching as jason looks at her with his big brown eyes filled with fear before he’s reaching up to twist a lock of his curly brown hair between his fingers, something he always does when he’s scared or anxious, and toni simply curls her fingers around his wrist gently to stop him with a reassuring smile. 

 

“don’t be nervous, okay? because you’re my little lion, and what do lions do?” she asks, her face screwed up in determination as jason gives her a wide grin before he throws his arms up in the air excitedly.

 

“they _roar!_ ” he shouts, giggling as toni tickles his sides with pure pride in her own brown eyes.

god, all that pain...all that fear she felt after giving birth to him, that depression of not feeling like he was hers because she never truly gave birth to him, the weeks spent crying in cheryl’s arms while her wife panicked over what go do and how to help her, the therapy sessions, the phantom pregnancy pains she got for months afterwards, the itching and the ache of the scar from the c-section, all of it...it was all so worth it for this little boy in front of her right now...

 

“yeah, they do! there’s my brave boy…mommy’s gonna pick you and your sister up in the afternoon and you’re gonna tell her all about your day, okay?” toni whispers, watching as he nods with excitement before she sees cheryl squat down beside her in her periphery vision, her hand reaching out to brush through jason’s soft brown curls with a reassuring smile.

 

“are you scared, jason?” she asks softly, her heart clenching at the memory of those words being uttered so long ago to a different jason on a very, very different day to this one before she brushes the heartbreaking memory away at the sight of her son shaking his head, his gaze moving to the building with his eyes wide and his face screwed up in determination, pouty lips and button nose so like his brunette mother’s scrunched.

 

“nope! i’m a lion, and lion’s don’t get scared!” he growls, grinning up at cheryl, who blinks back her tears before she holds her arms open, one of them reaching out to grip mercedes to tug her close as well.

 

“good. come here, give your mommies a hug.” she croaks out, toni’s arm wrapping around both mercedes and jason’s waists as the other wraps around cheryl’s, holding all three of them as close as possible, squeezing tightly as she presses her lips to jason’s temple while cheryl presses her own to mercedes’s temple.

 

“be good. we love you both so much...ask the teacher for help if you don’t know something, and-.”

 

“don’t wander off during lunch time. we know.” they chant at the same time, the both of them rolling their eyes at the same time too, so in sync that cheryl and toni exchange glances before cheryl laughs sheepishly.

 

“i guess it’s a twin thing without them being twins?” she grins, chuckling as toni rolls her eyes before she jumps up and ruffles jason’s hair playfully and presses a kiss to it.

 

“have a good first day, buddy. mercedes, look after him, but look after yourself, too, okay, birthday twin?” toni says softly, leaning down to kiss her daughter’s forehead quickly as she smiles toothily up at her with a nod.

 

“i will! come on, jase!” 

 

mercedes holds her hand out, and jason exhales shakily before he grips it tightly with a smile, his sister giggling before she swings their arms and walks them closer to riverdale elementary, the building smaller in stature to the high school they’ll attend in just a few years’ time…

 

cheryl and toni watch them until they walk up the steps, the both of them stopping at the front door before they turn to wave goodbye, and cheryl interlaces her fingers with toni, the both of them fighting back tears as they raise their free hands to wave goodbye back, watching as their kids enter their school before they door swings shut behind them.

 

they stay there for a few moments, the both of them taking in this moment before toni sighs shakily and squeezes toni’s hand in her own.

 

“i’ve gotta get to work, baby. remember, ronnie’s bringing cecelia over to try on some of mercedes’s old clothes at twelve, and josie and archie are coming over for dinner tonight so we can meet little eddie…”

 

“i can’t believe they adopted a baby without telling us till now.” cheryl grumbles, but she smiles nonetheless as toni chuckles and moves in to wrap her arms around cheryl’s waist, a deep, heavy sigh escaping her as she looks up at the building their kids are in with her bottom lip clutched between her teeth.

 

“god, everything’s moving so fast…we’ll blink and they’ll be in high school, and then we’ll blink again and they’ll be in college, and getting married and having babies of their own-.” toni says in a rush before cheryl presses a finger to her full lips to silence her.

 

“shh. don’t think about that. they’re still our babies and they’re always going to _be_ our babies. don’t go making us old grandmas before we’ve even gotten grey hairs, toni.” cheryl says with a chuckle, grinning widely as toni hums softly and presses a kiss to her lips before she pulls away with a mock frown, curling a lock of cheryl’s hair in her fingers.

 

“but…isn’t that a grey hair there-.”

 

“what, where?!” cheryl says frantically, gripping the lock and pulling it in front of her eyes as toni laughs loudly and cocks an eyebrow in amusement with a shake of her head.

 

“you’re pushing thirty-seven, cher, grey hairs are gonna start coming in soon.” 

 

“yeah, well, i probably do already have them, i’m married to you, which adds like, four years because of stress-.”

 

“shut up, it does not!” toni gasps out, causing cheryl to raise an eyebrow now with a smirk.

 

“ah, so that’s where jason learned those words from…”

 

toni simply glares at her with narrowed eyes as cheryl chuckles and kisses the corner of her mouth, and toni sighs in defeat as wraps her arms around cheryl’s neck and leans closer because of course she can’t stay mad at the love of her life as cheryl closes the gap and rests their foreheads together with a soft thump.

 

twenty years…twenty years together and the woman before her still has the fucking ability to make her heart race with a simple look and a smile…cheryl will never understand it, but over the course of twenty years, she’s discovered that it’s nothing something that necessarily needs to be understood…just something that needs to be acknowledged. because what they have is unexplainable, indefinable…something so beautiful, something so pure, cheryl’s quite sure not even the best writers could write down on pen and paper.

 

shakespeare would eat his heart out at the sight of their love. for what were romeo and juliet compared to cheryl and toni?

 

toni bites down on her bottom lip and looks up into bright brown depths, the warmth she always feels when she looks into cheryl’s eyes flooding her and instantly making her feel at home as they share this moment in the now empty parking lot of their kids’ school, this moment of nothing but bliss, nothing but the knowledge that their two little babies are growing up, that they’ve lived a life and will continue to do so together for so many years to come…

 

such a long way, such a long journey, from a chance meeting at a crowded hospital on a busy night to… _this._

 

“i love you, antoinette topaz.” cheryl breathes, smiling as toni scratches at the back of her neck before she hums softly and closes her eyes, their foreheads still pressed together as she whispers the three words she’ll never get sick of saying.

 

“i love you, cheryl topaz.” toni says with a smile, giggling as cheryl squeezes her close and captures her lips with her own, soft and pliant and god, so warm against her own before she pulls away with a breathless gasp and looks down at her with nothing but lust shining in her eyes.

 

“you know, we have at least an hour to kill before we have to go to work, and it’s the first time we’ll be alone in three months without the kids in the house…”

 

“you, me, home. _now._ ”


End file.
